


Bridge Over Troubled Water

by mandeebobandee



Series: Hogwarts Havoc [8]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-03-01 01:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 41
Words: 42,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18790618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandeebobandee/pseuds/mandeebobandee
Summary: The group return back to Hogwarts, hoping it will go better than their first attempt at their last year of schooling. But the storm in the world surrounding them grows increasingly tumultuous. Will they be able to weather it? Or will the unforgiving sea swallow them whole?





	1. Chapter 1

_"My baby's going off to his last year of Hogwarts!"_  Renilda squealed in delight. She and Virgil were standing on Platform 9 3/4.  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow at that and held up two fingers.  
  
_"...yeah, you're right, its technically your second last year of Hogwarts,"_  Renilda admitted.  _"But still! I'm so excited! My baby is growing up!"_  
  
She pulled him into a hug with a strength rivalling Patton's. He loved his mother dearly, but he saw the way a few nearby students were staring in his direction and it made him uncomfortable.  
  
Renilda pulled away with a smile.  _"Make sure you write as often as you can! I want to know how your year goes!"_  
  
Virgil knew that there was more to it than that. He'd gone missing in the middle of his first attempt at seventh year, after all. His mother wanted him to keep in touch because she was afraid of it happening again.  
  
He was too, to be honest. He planned to avoid Hogmeade. Even if he wasn't afraid of a repeat of what happened the year before, Hogsmeade carried with it a whole slew of traumatic memories, both within the village itself and in the aftermath.  
  
On the bright side, his mother would probably be pleased to hear that. Not the reason  _why_  he was avoiding Hogsmeade, but that he planned to avoid Hogsmeade in the first place. He didn't plan to tell her the reason why. She already found enough to fuss over him about, she didn't need to add something  _else_  to the list.  
  
Not to mention she was probably keen enough to figure it out without his saying anything.

Virgil waved to Renilda and climbed onto the train. This would be a new experience. It almost felt like starting Hogwarts all over again. Most of the students in his year were a year younger than him, aside from his friends, and while he knew a few students who were sixth years the year before, he was unfamiliar with quite a few of them.  
  
He also could not  _talk_ , not intellibly at least, and it would take time to adjust attending school with this impediment as well. Professor Picani was sure to notify the staff at Hogwarts of Virgil's condition so that they would not be caught unprepared, but there was no possible way to prepare for how other students might react.  
  
Virgil walked down the corridor, attempting to either find an empty compartment or one that his friends already staked out. Finding Chelsea, Era, and Astrit seated in a compartment, Virgil stepped inside and held up his hand to wave in greeting.  
  
_"Where's Logan? Figured you'd be with him,"_  Era noted.  
  
_"Probably at the prefect meeting,"_  Chelsea replied. Her gaze shifted to Virgil.  _"Right?"_  
  
Virgil nodded.   
  
_"They're still letting him be a prefect even after he missed half of last year?"_  Astrit blinked in surprise.  
  
Virgil nodded once more.  _He had to give up the Head Boy title though,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
_"What? Why?!"_  Chelsea blurted out.  
  
_"I'm guessing because he missed half of last year,"_  Era commented wryly.  
  
_"Because of circumstances outside his control! How is that fair?"_  Chelsea gaped.  
  
_"It is not fair to suggest that I should be awarded a position that they bestowed upon me once already when doing so would take the opportunity away from those who were formerly in the year below us,"_  Logan remarked as he stepped into the carriage himself.  
  
_"But aren't you worried about how that will effect your resume?"_  Era eyed him curiously.  
  
Virgil half expected Logan to blanch, but Logan shook his head.  _"The fact that I was not awarded the position this year does not diminish my accomplishments a year prior. They still have Logan Dicax listed as the Head Boy for the previous year in the school records, and have informed me that the records will remain that way,"_  Logan assured them.

 _"Well that's good at least,"_  Astrit shrugged.  _"I hope I can be a prefect in either my sixth or seventh year. I hope that missing so much school in both third and fifth year doesn't damage my chances of that,"_  he sighed.  
  
_"I feel like, if anything, your experience during those times should count as 'practical experience' and should give you a boost in the runnings,"_  Chelsea remarked.  
  
_"So where are the lovebirds? Did they get lost in each other's eyes on the way over here?"_  Era snickered.  
  
_"Oooh, that's a good one babe,"_  Chelsea grinned.  
  
_"That is highly improbable, considering the circumstances,"_  Logan observed.  
  
_It's a figure of speech, L,_  Virgil wrote with an amused grin and a shake of his head.  
  
_"Ah,"_  Logan acknowledged.  _"In that case, disregard my previous statement."_  
  
_"Don't have to tell us twice,"_  a new voice joined the fray, and the others in the compartment glanced toward the source of the voice. His arm jerked slightly, as if he were about to wave, but he settled for nodding in greeting instead as one hand held Patton's and the other held his trunk.  
  
_"Hey guys! What were you talking about?"_  Patton chimed in.  
  
_"We were discussing your whereabouts, actually,"_  Logan explained.  
  
_"We were discussing what color to make the tablecloths at the wedding and lost track of time,"_ Roman explained.  
  
_"Right, you were discussing tablecloths. You weren't eating each other's faces for several minutes straight in one of the back compartments,"_  Era said with a wry grin on her face.  
  
_"No! No, of course not! Where would you get a silly idea like that?"_  Patton let out a nervous titter and waved his hand.  
  
_"Cut the crap. Era and I walking past the two of you doing it. You weren't even trying to hide it,"_ Chelsea snickered.  
  
_"...my point still stands, as we were not eating each other's faces for several minutes straight!"_ Roman protested.  
  
_"What, were you only eating each other's faces for one minute straight?"_  Astrit chuckled.  
  
_"No, we were eating each other's faces for several minutes gay. Important distinction,"_  Roman replied.  
  
_"We are fast approaching Hogwarts,"_  Logan announced, peering out the window. Virgil glanced out as well. They were at such a distance that the castle still appeared tiny, but Logan was correct - it was within sight. Virgil still had little luck in sorting out his emotions, and he did not think he'd get much farther any time soon...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...yes I used Simon and Garfunkel lyrics again. I'm pretty sure I've developed a theme at this point. But when they work, they work? XD Don't fix what isn't broken, insert other excuses here...


	2. Chapter 2

The start of year feast was as abundant as always. Virgil didn't even realize how hungry he was until the food appeared on the table and his stomach gave a loud rumble.  
  
He frowned as he glanced around at his housemates at the Slytherin table. Seating arrangements were more lax during the rest of the year, but during events such as the Start and End of Year Feasts things were a lot more strict. As such, Virgil could not sit with any of his friends. None of them were Slytherins. Roman, Era, and Astrit could sit together over at the Gryffindor table. Logan and Chelsea were both in Ravenclaw. Even Patton had his younger brothers.  
  
Elliott and Shane graduated, however, which meant that Virgil wasn't joined by anyone. Even if he weren't hesitant to strike up a conversation with just anyone, he was  _incapable_  of doing so without having to explain why he had to write down all of his answers and that all felt so personal to explain to someone he was just barely meeting and...  
  
 _"Hey, want some company?"_  a voice asked. Virgil looked up from his plate at once.

It took him a few seconds to recognize Toby. He'd grown a few inches in the year since he last saw Patton's one younger brother that was sorted into Slytherin, and his voice was deeper. It stood to reason, though; August, Seth, and Toby would all be in their third year now. Patton's younger sister would be starting her second, and his youngest sister would be starting at the school the following year.   
  
Virgil hoped not to repeat his seventh year a  _third_  time, however, so he'd have to miss out on  _her_ sorting ceremony.  
  
 _"You okay?"_  Toby repeated, drawing Virgil from his thoughts.  
  
Virgil blinked a few times as he regained his bearings, then nodded and motioned for Toby to take a seat. Toby started to pile food on his plate...a  _lot_  of food, by the looks of it.  
  
Were Virgil able to talk, he might have made a joking comment about saving some food for the rest of the people at the table, but he kept quiet instead. He could see others' eyes on him, and even a couple of others at the Slytherin table pointing to him and making faces. Of course they would, he was supposed to have graduated the previous year, and disappeared halfway through the year and didn't return. Of course that would be a talking point.  
  
Virgil sighed, wondering if he should have come back at all.  
  
 _"Dude, ignore them. Don't let them ruin the first day of your final year,"_  Toby told him before taking a bite out of his dinner.  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow.   
  
 _"Okay okay, the second first day of your final year,"_  Toby conceded.  _"But seriously, it's good to see all of you back. Gonna miss Elliott and Shane though. They kinda took me under their wings last year."_  
  
Virgil smiled. He was glad to see that Toby started to come into his own, and that Elliott and Shane helped to play a part in that. They were good people.  
  
His smile fell when he noticed a younger girl standing over him, perhaps fourth or fifth year at the oldest.  _"Hey, is it true that you dropped out of Hogwarts last year to join a criminal organization and only came back cause you couldn't cut it?"_  
  
Virgil shook his head at once, a wave of dizziness sweeping over him.   
  
 _"Okay, I was just curious,"_  the girl shrugged and made her way back to her friends. What made matters worse was that he could hear what the girls said as she rejoined them, as if they weren't trying to disguise what they were saying at all.  
  
 _"Weren't you scared?"_  
  
 _"He could have cursed you!"_  
  
 _"Ugh, did you see how pale he went when you asked him? I bet he's lying and those rumors are totally true."_  
  
Virgil sighed. Somehow returning to school was worse than he thought. He thought the biggest thing he'd have to worry about was the loss of his voice; instead it was the  _rumors_  as to why he went missing the year before in the first place.  
  
The worst part? There  _was_  an element of truth to those rumors. He technically had joined the Council. He was placed under enchantments by his father to completely warp his perception of his life and how it played out, but he'd joined nevertheless. The rumor that he'd joined a criminal organization and didn't make the cut wasn't technically untrue, it just left out a lot of the details.  
  
Details that Virgil did not particularly want to recount. He closed his eyes and went through a few of his breathing exercises. As he did so, he heard another voice chime in, this one entirely unfamiliar to him.  
  
 _"He didn't do any of those things,"_  the voice said. It came from a boy who shoved his glasses up his nose. He couldn't help but think that the boy looked like...  
  
 _"Oh? And how would you know?"_  the same girl from before sneered.  
  
 _"Because my uncle would have told me if something like that happened. His mother and my uncle are dating, you know,"_  the boy said with a roll of his eyes.  
  
Professor Picani. The boy looked like Professor Picani.  
  
Which he supposed stood to  _reason_  if Professor Picani was his uncle.  
  
 _"Ugh, whatever. Did you see who Lauren was talking to on the train?"_  the girls began talking among themselves once more, as Professor Picani's nephew made his way over to where Toby and Virgil were seated.  
  
 _"Hey, you're Virgil, right?"_  he asked.  _"My uncle's told me a lot about you."_  
  
Toby whistled.  _"Your uncle is dating his mom and the two of you haven't even met yet? Awkwaaaaaaard."_  
  
Ignoring Toby, Professor Picani's nephew extended a hand to Virgil.

 _"Name's Adam. It's nice to meet you."_  
  
Virgil nodded and gave a slight wave. Adam frowned in what Virgil could only assume was confusion.  
  
 _"He can't talk,"_  Toby provided by way of explanation.  _"He fell victim to a curse."_  
  
 _"Ah, Uncle Emile never mentioned that,"_  Adam said with a frown, briefly glancing back at Virgil before turning his attention back to Toby.  _"And who might you be?"_  
  
Toby blinked in surprise, though provided his answer nevertheless.  _"Toby Wright."_  
  
 _"Toby Wright? Any relation to Patton Wright?"_  Adam wondered.  
  
Toby nodded.  _"That's my older brother."_  
  
 _"Well it's good to meet you as well, Toby,"_  he smiled.  _"What year are the two of you in?"_  
  
 _"Third,"_  Toby answered.  
  
Virgil held up seven fingers.  
  
 _"Seventh? That puts us in the same year! Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other this year!"_ Adam grinned.  
  
Virgil could not help but smile back at both Toby and Adam. If everything went right with this, maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

If Virgil thought coming back to Hogwarts in itself was strange enough, he had no idea what awaited him in his classes.  
  
Every class was filled with mostly unfamiliar students, or at least students that he only knew marginally in passing. It didn't help that he wasn't particularly social before finding himself in his current friend group. It wasn't unheard of to have friends outside of one's year by any stretch, and Virgil  _did_  have a couple of friends who'd fall into this category, but the fact remained that Virgil did not know these people all that well. He did not share six prior years of classes with them.  
  
He had no idea how to  _read_  them because he did not  _know_ them, and it left him feeling even more on edge than usual.  
  
The only solace was that he was not alone. Logan, Patton, Era, Chelsea, Astrit, and Roman were coping with the same thing. It was arguably worse for Astrit. Virgil, Logan, Chelsea, Patton, Roman, and Era were all repeating their seventh year. Astrit was repeating his  _fifth_.  
  
His membership on the Quidditch team in the past apparently aided him in this regard, as he did have a couple of teammates who were in the year behind him at the point when they played but were in the same year as him now.  
  
As none of them missed the first few months of schooling, much of what they were learning was review. As expected, some classes were more difficult than others. Charms was the hardest to adjust to, especially when he was still relearning nonverbal charms. That said, Virgil's favorite days in class were the ones where the class would be learning nonverbal charms anyway, as nonverbal charms were a part of NEWT curriculum.  
  
It was here that he really shone, not just in Charms class but in other classes that required spellwork. He supposed it made sense that there was some sort of trade-off. He struggled immensely when they learned new verbal spells, because he could no longer cast verbal spells, but he was better than most of the class at nonverbal spells because he had a lot of practice at this point.

As expected, Virgil looked forward to his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes the most. Not only did he enjoy the subject matter most in this class, but all of his friends were in it - both old and new.  
  
Adam got along well enough with Virgil's other friends, and it looked as though they had another person to add to their group of friends. As they were three members down with Elliott, Shane, and Paige having graduated, they certainly had room for it. And Virgil genuinely enjoyed the fact that once again, he was not the only Slytherin within their group.  
  
There was one person who didn't see eye to eye with Adam, however, and that was Roman.  
  
The two got along well enough, but Virgil certainly saw the way that Roman would cast glares in Adam's direction when he thought no one else was looking. Eventually, Virgil felt the need to confront Roman about it.  
  
_What is your deal?_  Virgil slipped a note to Roman one day after class as they were headed down to the Great Hall.  
  
Roman scoffed.  _"You mean you don't feel it? And here I thought you were always on guard. I don't trust Adam."_  
  
Virgil raised an eyebrow at this. Though he did not say a word, his expression made it clear that he wanted Roman to explain why he didn't trust their new friend.  
  
_"Oh come on. He just happens into our friend group because of a chance encounter? How much sense does that make?"_  Roman scoffed.  
  
_That is literally how it has happened with just about everyone in our friend group,_  Virgil countered.  
  
Roman looked as if he was about to argue, then huffed as he realized that Virgil wasn't technically wrong.  
  
_"He just seems suspicious. There's something about him I don't like,"_  Roman frowned.  
  
_The fact that he's a Slytherin?_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
Roman folded his arms across his chest.  _"I was like that once. I'm not like that anymore. I'm friends with you, aren't I? And Shane and Elliott."_  
  
_But you didn't want to accept Shane and Elliott at first,_  Virgil reminded him.  
  
Roman let out a frustrated sigh.  _"I'm not saying what I did back then was right, but I'm not like that now. I'm telling you, there's something weird about Adam!"_  
  
_Then tell me why you think he's suspicious!_  Virgil wrote.  
  
_"Have you seen how often he carries around a thermos?"_  Roman whispered darkly.  
  
_And that's supposed to be suspicious how, exactly?_  Virgil retorted.  
  
_"He's clearly using Polyjuice Potion!"_  Roman announced.   
  
_Or he's just thirsty,_  Virgil rolled his eyes.  
  
Sensing that he wasn't getting very far with Virgil, Roman sighed and continued on toward the Great Hall. Virgil followed not far behind. They rounded a corner in time to find Logan and Adam sitting and talking on a bench down the hall.  
  
Virgil pointed in their direction and folded his arms across his chest, quirking up an eyebrow as if to say 'why don't you ask them right now?'.  
  
As expected, Roman took off down the hall at once, marching like a man on a mission. Virgil followed, though hung back slightly. He kept a close eye on Roman, hoping that he didn't do anything stupid.  
  
_"I don't trust you,"_  Roman blurted out once he was standing in front of the duo.  
  
_"Excuse me?"_  Logan replied.  _"We have been friends for a number of years..."_  
  
_"Not you,"_  Roman interrupted.  _"Him,"_  he said, indicating Adam.  
  
Adam frowned.  _"I mean, I wouldn't expect you to trust me too much, we've only known each other for a few weeks..."_  
  
_"Exactly, so how do you know so much about us?"_  Roman hissed.  
  
Adam blinked, clearly taken aback.  _"My uncle is Professor Picani..."_  
  
_"A likely story!"_  Roman huffed.  
  
_"Look, maybe I should go, let you guys discuss this on your own..."_  Adam went to stand, reaching for his bag and his thermos.  
  
He grabbed the bag. Someone  _else_  grabbed the thermos.  
  
_"I'm going to prove it! If you guys won't listen any other way, I'll have to show you!"_  Roman announced, popping the lid on the thermos and taking a big gulp of the contents within.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
_"Are you done?"_  Logan inquired, an unamused expression on his face.  
  
Adam, however, looked worried...and for the first time Virgil began to wonder if Roman's suspicions about Adam were correct after all.  
  
He didn't have much time to think of that, however, as Roman asked a question that made him freeze at once upon hearing it.  _"Logan, why are you getting taller?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Kofi page [here](https://ko-fi.com/E1E3VGAE)! But please note, you guys DEFINITELY don't have to donate, nor do I expect you to. It's just something that I got after seeing other people with them and thought it looked interesting lol.


	4. Chapter 4

There was no doubt about it - Roman was  _shrinking_.  
  
Characterizing what Roman was doing as simply 'shrinking' didn't quite cover it, though, as Virgil soon realized. If he were merely shrinking, Roman wouldn't look as though he was growing younger by the second.  
  
But he did.  
  
Logan and Virgil rounded on Adam at once.  
  
 _"You are going to explain this,"_  Logan demanded.  
  
 _"Explain what? Even I can't explain what just happened,"_  Adam stared. And Virgil had to admit that he looked genuinely stunned.  
  
Virgil and Logan followed his gaze back to Roman, who had the appearance of a small child, perhaps five at the oldest.  
  
 _"Take a picture, it'll last longer,"_  Roman huffed, his arms folded across his chest.  
  
 _"At last, his physical age is on par with his maturity level,"_  Logan remarked with a bemused grin.  
  
 _"Excuse me?!"_  Roman glared.  
  
 _"Tell me, Roman, what is 8x6?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
 _"...the hell? I'm tiny, this is no time to be doing math, Specs! Fix me!"_  Roman protested.  
  
 _"Just answer the question,"_  Logan replied calmly.

 _"Fine, the answer is 48. Why do you need to know?"_  Roman asked.  
  
 _"Ah, it is as I thought then,"_  Logan murmured.   
  
Virgil quirked an eyebrow upward, waiting for Logan to say more. He also kept a close eye on Adam, making sure that the suspicious newcomer did not try making a run for it.  
  
 _"You have regressed physically to a young age, but the regression does not seem to have affected your mental state. If I am not mistaken, you are currently experiencing the effects of a de-aging potion,"_  Logan announced.  
  
 _"Yeah yeah, that's great that you've diagnosed what's wrong with me, but can we fix it?"_  Roman questioned.

 _"I'm more curious as to why our dear friend Adam finds it necessary to carry around a de-aging potion with him in the first place,"_  Logan turned to Adam, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Adam let out a long sigh.  _"If you will follow me, I will explain everything."_  
  
 _"No,"_  Logan retorted.  
  
 _"No?"_  Adam arched a brow at that.  
  
 _"No. Negative. Why should we follow you anywhere? You have proven that you are untrustworthy to us,"_  Logan explained.  
  
 _"...while that is a fair point, I can think of one reason why you might want to follow me,"_  Adam noted.  
  
 _"And just what might that reason be?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
 _"I know where we can find an fast-acting antidote for Roman. Unless Roman would like to go to his next class in the form of a five year old?"_  Adam shot a glance at Roman, whose eyes widened in horror at what Adam was suggesting.  
  
 _"Lead the way,"_  Roman gestured for Adam to start walking.  
  
Adam started off down the hall, followed closely behind by Roman. Virgil and Logan exchanged glances, neither looking too keen on taking this course of action.  Ultimately, hey followed Adam and Roman. Virgil did slip his hand into his pocket and make sure that his wand was at the ready at a moment's notice, however.

\-------------------------------------  
  
 _"So why are you taking a de-aging potion?"_  Roman asked Adam as they continued down the hall. Roman very quickly realized that it was going to be difficult to continue down the hall wearing his normal robes as they were much too large for his current size. Logan helpfully cast a spell on Roman's clothes to not only fit his small frame, but to grow in size when/if the de-aging potion wore off or they gave him an antidote.  
  
 _"Reasons,"_  Adam replied unhelpfully. V  
  
 _"Oh, reasons. Of course, that explains everything!"_  Roman gasped, holding his hand over his mouth in a mocking fashion.  _"Thank you for your enlightening words!"_  
  
 _Somehow he manages to look even more extra as a five year old,_  Virgil thought to himself. And that was saying something. Then again, he supposed Roman was just as extra as he always was, it just looked more pronounced in a five year old than it did in an eighteen year old.  
  
 _"How much further is this anyway? My legs are starting to hurt,"_ Roman whined.  
  
 _"We have only walked for ten minutes,"_  Logan observed.  
  
 _"Yes, and you have long legs that can take longer strides, in case you have not noticed,"_  Roman insisted.  
  
 _"What would you like us to do, pick us up and carry you?"_  Logan asked.  
  
Roman looked utterly aghast.  _"Merlin, no! I can walk myself, thank you! I was just...oh, nevermind,"_  he grumbled.  
  
Adam snickered, looking thoroughly amused at this whole exchange. Virgil shot him a glare once he caught him doing it, and Adam's grin immediately fell. The group continued down the hall. Fortunately, the halls were mostly deserted, as the majority of the students and staff in the school were in the Great Hall by this point for dinner. That was for the best, as Virgil  _knew_  they'd be getting a lot of questions if anyone did see them.  
  
 _"How many more flights of stairs do we need to go down?"_ Roman inquired.  
  
 _"This should be the last one,"_  Adam replied.  
  
 _"Better be,"_  Roman huffed, folding his arms across his chest as he continued walking.  
  
Virgil had to bite on his lip to keep from laughing out loud at the sight.  
  
Adam stopped in front of a door. Roman crashed into the back of him and nearly fell backward.  _"A little warning would be nice next time!"_  Roman called out.  
  
 _"We're here,"_  Adam announced, gazing at the small door directly in front of where they stood.  
  
 _"Nooooooo, I never would have guessed,"_  Roman commented in a sardonic tone, clearly still testy from the fate that befell him.  
  
 _"Where is 'here', exactly?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
 _"You'll see soon enough,"_  Adam replied, then proceeded to knock on the door to the room. Virgil tensed, wrapping his hand around his wand in his pocket in the event that he had to pull it out right away.  
  
As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about.  
  
Professor Picani pulled open the door from the other side. His eyes first fell on Adam, then shifted to Virgil, Logan, and finally Roman.   
  
 _"...Roman got a hold of the de-aging potion, didn't he?"_  Professor Picani said with a sigh.  _"Very well, I'll get the antidote ready. You should really be more careful, Adam."_


	5. Chapter 5

Professor Picani was in on it.  
  
_Professor Picani was in on it._  
  
...whatever 'it' was.  
  
_"I thought I told you to be careful with the potion,"_  Professor Picani told Adam in a scolding tone.  
  
_"I was!"_  Adam protested.  
  
_"Then why did Roman shrink faster than Alice when she first arrived in Wonderland?"_  Professor Picani frowned.  
  
_"...I don't even understand that reference,"_  Adam frowned.  
  
Professor Picani shook his head.  _"We'll need to do some lessons later on."_  
  
_"Part of me feels as though I should not say this, as I strongly suspect that I lack important information, but Adam is essentially correct. He was as careful as he could be with the thermos,"_  Logan explained.  
  
_"Then how did it wind up in Roman's unsuspecting hands?"_ Professor Picani wondered.  
  
Virgil let out a snort, drawing Professor Picani's attention in his direction. He quickly scribbled out a reply.  _They weren't unsuspecting hands._  
  
_"'They weren't unsuspecting hands'? What do you mean by that?"_ Professor Picani inquired.  
  
_"He means I suspected that something wasn't right about Adam! And it turns out I was right! He was taking a de-aging potion!"_ Roman pointed accusingly at Adam.  
  
Adam rolled his eyes.  _"Yes yes, we've established all that."_  
  
_"We've also established that you are not only aware of what is happening but are helping Adam to facilitate it. Why is that?"_ Logan eyed Professor Picani warily.  
  
_"I feel it is his place to tell you that, not mine,"_  Professor Picani replied, nodding Adam's way.  
  
Adam stood against a bookshelf, his arms folded across his chest.  _"Thanks, I appreciate that,"_  he responded sarcastically.

 _"Why are you taking a de-aging potion?"_  Roman demanded.  
  
_"Because I wouldn't be able to attend Hogwarts if I did not,"_ Adam replied.  
  
_"...so you're too old for Hogwarts,"_  Roman frowned.  
  
_"And you aren't?"_  Adam retorted.   
  
_"That's different! We missed a half of year of schooling! We do not need de-aging potions to convincingly pass as students! What is your real motive?"_  Roman hissed. Virgil had to admit that it didn't quite have the same edge when Roman appeared to be  _five_.  
  
Adam let out a sigh.  
  
Professor Picani glanced at him.  _"It would be best if you told them. They're already suspicious, and they will continue to be until you provide them with an explanation."_  
  
Adam clenched his fists, then released his hands and let out a sigh.  _"I expected you guys to find out eventually, but I figured I'd at least get a couple of months of fun out of this."_  
  
_"Fun?"_  Logan inquired.  _"Was that your intent all along?"_  
  
_"Not my intent. Just an added benefit,"_  Adam shrugged.  
  
_"Get to the point!"_  Roman roared. Only it sounded more like a squeak, and Virgil had to bite down hard on his lip to keep himself from busting out laughing.  
  
The corners of Adam's mouth twitched upward as well, though he was at least helpful enough to provide Roman with a reply. He retrieved a second thermos from his bag and gave it a shake so that the others could hear the liquid sloshing within.  _"Polyjuice Potion."_  
  
Virgil's eyes widened. So Roman hadn't been wrong  _at all_ , though what he did was still incredibly stupid and he was lucky that worse did not happen.

Logan narrowed his eyes.  _"Polyjuice Potion. You are taking Polyjuice Potion."_  
  
He turned to Professor Picani.  _"And you are his accomplice? Does the administration realize that you are facilitating this?"_  
  
_"Of course not, why do you think he needs Polyjuice Potion?"_ Professor Picani replied.  
  
_Wait until my mother finds out that you're as much of a liar as Linus was,_  Virgil wrote, glaring at Professor Picani.  
  
Professor Picani actually looked somewhat taken aback.  
  
_"Didn't consider that, did you?"_  Roman smirked.  
  
_"Actually, she's the one who convinced him to do this,"_  Adam interjected.  
  
_"...excuse me?"_  Logan and Roman gaped. Virgil had to imagine his expression was similar to theirs.  
  
_"She convinced him to do it. So if you want to get on anyone's back about this, you'll probably want to get on her back,"_  Adam said with a shrug.  
  
_"...Ms. Nyx? Why would Ms. Nyx do such a thing?"_  Logan protested.  
  
_I know why,_  Virgil wrote, eyeing Adam closely.

 _"Do you?"_  Adam arched a brow at that.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes.  _There's only one reason why my mother would ask Professor Picani to help Adam falsify his identity, and only one reason Professor Picani would agree. She wanted her son to finish school._  
  
_"But you're here. I fail to see what Adam has to do with it, unless he's here to keep you from getting kidnapped again,"_  Roman remarked.  
  
_Not me. Her other son,_  Virgil wrote, then pointed to Adam.  
  
_"Her other...DECEIT?!"_  Logan practically yelped in his surprise as he saw Deceit standing where Adam was just moments before. Virgil had to cover his ears with his hands.  
  
_"I told you to keep up on your Polyjuice Potion intake as well, Adam. Or should I say Lionel?"_  Professor Picani's mouth was curved upward into a smirk.  
  
_"I figured these three would like to see my lovely face before I do,"_  Deceit smiled at them.  
  
_"Why on Earth didn't you just tell us?"_  Roman huffed.  
  
_"I figured you might do something stupid. Little did I realize that you'd do something stupid regardless,"_  Deceit commented with a roll of his eyes.  
  
_"Do you want to say that again to my face?"_  Roman clenched his fists and took a step forward.  
  
_"Oh yes, I'm so afraid of you in your current state,"_  Deceit chuckled.  
  
_"...shut up,"_  Roman growled, but loosened his hands and folded his arms across his chest instead, leveling a glare in Deceit's direction.  
  
_"He's not exactly incorrect in this scenario..."_  Logan began.  
  
_"Don't you start,"_  Roman turned his glare toward Logan.  
  
Virgil snickered, trying to keep it as quiet as possible so as to not find himself he third subject of Roman's ire. But he couldn't help it - this was  _hilarious_!  
  
_"Who just takes a thermos from someone and drinks it? It could have been anything!"_  Deceit said through chuckles.  
  
_"I was trying to prove that you were a liar!"_  Roman shouted.  _"And I was right, wasn't I?"_  
  
_"Boys, boys, settle down,"_  Professor Picani cut in with a bemused expression. He held a small container in either hand.   
  
_"Roman, your antidote is in my left hand. Deceit, your Polyjuice Potion is in my left hand. Once you take that, we'll get you some more de-aging potion, and then you'll be good to go,"_  Professor Picani explained.  
  
_"Wait, Polyjuice Potion and de-aging potion?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
_"Well, yes,"_  Professor Picani said with a chortle.  _"Didn't you wonder how 'Adam' managed to look so much like me?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So some of you probably saw that 'twist' coming, but oh well. Hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. XD


	6. Chapter 6

At last, the group reached a full understanding of what happened....for the most part.  
  
First, Roman took the antidote to the de-aging potion and gradually grew to his regular size, much to his delight.   
  
 _"I'm back! Now let's get down to business!"_  he called out.  
  
 _"To defeat...the Huns!"_  Professor Picani sung out in reply. Logan had to cover his mouth to hide the snickers that threatened to escape, a sight that caused Virgil to himself smile. He didn't understand the reference, but  _Logan_  did, and seeing Logan try in vain to disguise his amusement was a sight to behold in itself.  
  
Virgil and the others had the chance to bear witness to Deceit's transformation for the first time, and thus for the first time also realized just how complex this plan actually was. It  _wasn't_  as simple as taking Polyjuice Potion and calling it a day, as Roman originally thought.  
  
First, Deceit took the Polyjuice Potion, morphing into an exact copy of Professor Picani.  
  
 _"Now, the de-aging potion,"_  Professor Picani handed the potion over to Deceit, who hurriedly drank what Virgil presumed was the recommended dosage to de-age Deceit back into a form more befitting of his actual age.  
  
 _"Ingenious,"_  Logan murmured.   
  
'Adam' could pass as a relative of Professor Picani's because he Polyjuiced himself into Professor Picani's form, then took a de-aging potion. Add to that the fact that Deceit did not wear Professor Picani's glasses, and the two looked like distinct yet related individuals.  
  
 _"See, I wasn't wrong. He does use Polyjuice Potion,"_  Roman blurted out.  
  
Professor Picani laughed.  _"He does."_  His face turned serious.  _"I assume that's what you thought was in the thermos you drank from? No matter how suspicious  you are, I would not suggest drinking from someone else's thermos unless you know for certain what is inside. That could have been dangerous."_  
  
 _"It seemed like the best way to prove my point at the time. They weren't going to listen to me otherwise,"_  Roman grumbled.  
  
 _"What you were suggesting sounded utterly absurd,"_  Logan reasoned.  
  
 _"But I was right, wasn't I? And yet you still want to discount what I'm saying. I may not be as smart as you, Logan, but I'm not an idiot,"_  Roman snapped.  
  
Virgil chewed on his lip. Roman might have been snapping at Logan, but Virgil did the exact same thing when Roman expressed his concerns to him - he'd brushed them off, assumed that Roman was just being his overdramatic self as usual. Even if he  _was_ , even if Roman's suspicions  _were_ incorrect...what did that say about how they'd treated him? How would he feel if he were in Roman's shoes?  
  
 _"Alright alright, you're both bringing up good points,"_  Professor Picani thankfully inserted himself into the conversation, glancing at both Logan and Roman.  _"Clearly, Roman, you felt ignored, so you did the quickest thing you could think of to grab the others' attention and prove what you were saying. Right?"_  
  
Roman nodded, folding his arms across his chest as he eyed the others defensively.  
  
 _"That being said, your friends have valid concerns as well. What you did could have been dangerous had it occurred under different circumstances. What if the thermos contained a medical potion that was necessary for Adam to drink, but would have ultimately posed harmful to you? What if it was a trap? I understand that you want to be heard, but you could have severely injured yourself or worse,"_  Professor Picani frowned.  _"I trust that you will all take the lessons you've learned to heart today?"_  
  
Virgil, Logan, and Roman hastily nodded.  
  
 _"I know I have,"_  Deceit remarked.  _"Never leave a thermos unattended around Roman again."_  
  
 _"Lionel,"_  Professor Picani eyed him sternly.  
  
 _"Fine, fine. That was uncalled for and I'm sorry,"_  Deceit sighed.  
  
 _"Much better,"_  Professor Picani said with a smile. He handed two containers to Deceit.  _"Refills on your potions. That should be enough of each to get you through the next few days. I was going to give them to you tomorrow, but since you stopped in today..."_  He gave a shrug.  
  
Deceit nodded, making certain that both containers were sealed before storing them in his bag.  
  
The four students bid farewell to Professor Picani before heading on their way.  
  
 _"So, inquiring minds want to know..."_  Roman eyed the Slytherin closely.  
  
 _"Yes?"_  Deceit said with an annoyed sigh.  
  
 _"Why Adam?"_  Roman wondered.  
  
 _"No reason,"_  Deceit shrugged.  
  
 _"Falsehood,"_  Logan proclaimed.  _"You adopted a new name for yourself, and I find it difficult to believe that you would chose a name that meant nothing to you. Adam is a reference to the world's first man in many religions, is it not?"_  
  
 _"Is it? I had no idea,"_  Deceit responded.  
  
 _"Human geneticists has adopted the name as well. Y-chromosomal Adam refers to the most recent common ancestor that all men share. Whether religious or scientific, the name Adam can be associated with a new beginning. And that is exactly where you are at, isn't it? A new beginning with us, and a new beginning at Hogwarts,"_  Logan deduced.  
  
Deceit let out a huff.  _"You put too much thought into this. I chose the name Adam because it sounded nice, that's all. Now if you'll excuse me, I must drop these containers off at my dorm."_  
  
Instead of continuing toward the Great Hall like the other three, Deceit made a bee-line for the staircase to head downstairs. The other three stared after him with incredulous expressions on their faces, though none of them made a move to follow him, no matter how tempted they might be.  
  
Once Deceit turned around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, Roman sighed.  _"None of what he just said was true, was it?"_  
  
 _"Not one word of it,"_  Logan replied.  
  
Virgil sighed and shook his head, urging the other two toward the kitchen. He'd have a chat with his brother later on. They shared a dorm now; Deceit couldn't avoid him forever. But for now, they'd had enough distractions. They needed to get to dinner before it ended.


	7. Chapter 7

Upon their arrival into the Great Hall, Virgil, Logan, and Roman made quick work of notifying the others what the three of them decided after their departure from Deceit mere moments before.  
  
They needed a meeting. The others in their friend group absolutely  _needed_  to know what was going on, but none of them wanted to expose Deceit's secret to the entire school by discussing the matter in the midst of the crowded Great Hall, where anyone could overhear.  
  
It was decided that the group would meet at 7pm, allowing them to finish with dinner and possibly attend to any other quick errands they needed to accomplish ahead of time.  
  
Virgil and Logan thought they were the first to arrive to the abandoned classroom on the fourth floor they'd adopted as their own in their fifth year, but as it turned out another couple beat them to the punch.  
  
 _"Nice of you to join us at last,"_  Era commented with a wry grin as Virgil and Logan walked past her, each taking a seat at one of the desks within the room.  
  
 _"I wouldn't get your hopes up yet, Era. I'm sure we still have to wait for the others to turn up before they share anything really juicy with us,"_  Chelsea chimed in.  
  
 _"You would be correct,"_  Logan replied.  
  
 _"See?"_  Chelsea indicated Logan with a roll of her eyes.  
  
As impatient as Chelsea was to get started, she and Era wouldn't have to wait too much longer.  
  
Roman and Patton walked in soon after, hand in hand.&nbsp  
  
 _"Oooh, almost everyone's here already!"_  Patton observed in an excited tone.  
  
 _"Everyone except Astrit,"_  Era frowned.  _"I wonder what's taking him so long? He said he needed to run to his dorm quickly, but he's been gone for at least twenty minutes..."_  
  
 _"Sorry I'm late, guys,"_  Astrit's voice announced from behind Patton and Roman. Era let out a visible sigh of relief.  _"One of my dormmates was nervous about OWLs and wanted to ask me if I had any pointers. I had to remind him that I haven't taken my OWLs yet either, on account of not finishing last year,"_  he explained before settling into a seat near his older sister.  
  
 _"Alright, we're all here! What was so important that you decided to call an impromptu meeting like this?"_  Chelsea blurted out almost immediately after Astrit took a seat.  
  
 _"Just a moment, there is something that we should tend to first,"_ Logan replied.  
  
Chelsea laid her face on the desk in front of her and let out a grown of frustration.  
  
 _"Muffliato,"_  Logan murmured, pointing at the door.  _"Muffliato,"_ he repeated, pointing to one of the walls. He did this three more times, thereby insuring that the room was soundproof.  
  
 _"Oh. I suppose that makes sense,"_  Chelsea admitted, seated upright once more with a slightly sheepish expression on her face.  
  
 _"Soundproofing the room? This must be something big,"_  Astrit frowned, looking uncomfortable.  
  
 _"Depends on your definition of 'big', I suppose,"_  Logan replied.  
  
 _"There is an impostor in our midst!"_  Roman blurted out dramatically.  
  
 _"What?"_  Era's eyes blew wide.  
  
 _"Who?"_  Astrit eyed the others warily.  _"Do we know who it is?"_  
  
Logan let out a sigh, squeezing the bridge of his nose.  _"See, this is why you should have left the explanations to me, Roman,"_ he muttered, then cleared his throat.  _"Roman is correct, though he left out one vital piece of information - the impostor is not present within this room."_  
  
Astrit let out a massive sigh of relief, though he was not the only one. Virgil noticed that  _Patton_  did as well.  
  
 _"Then who is it?"_  Patton wondered.  
  
 _"It's Adam, isn't it? He's the only one not present,"_  Era deduced.  
  
 _"Yeah, but he's never come to one of our meetings. We only just met him a few weeks ago,"_  Patton pointed out.  
  
 _Not true,_  Virgil wrote, clearing his throat to draw the others' attention to him  
  
Era, Astrit, Chelsea, and Patton all turned to him and read what he wrote. A brief silence ensued.

 _"You're saying we've met him before, then?"_  Astrit blinked.  
  
 _"How exactly did you find all of this out?"_  Era raised an eyebrow.  
  
 _"We heard it right from the horse's mouth!"_  Roman replied.  
  
Logan furrowed his brow at that.  _"I don't recall there being a horse involved."_  
  
 _"It's a figure of speech,"_  Roman explained.  
  
 _"Adam told you all of this himself?"_  Era blinked in surprise.  _"Why would he do that?"_  
  
 _"Oh, well, he might have been backed into a corner. We worked out that he was taking potions to alter his appearance,"_  Roman informed them.  
  
 _Because Roman turned himself into a five year old,_  Virgil wrote with a grin.  
  
 _"Wait, what?"_  Chelsea frowned.  _"Wouldn't Polyjuice be best for disguising oneself?"_  
  
 _"Not when the person one is morphing into is much too old to be a student at Hogwarts,"_  Roman revealed.  
  
 _"HEY!"_  Astrit called out all of a sudden. The others turned to look to him in surprise.  _"We're doing all of this speculating and we still don't know who it is!"_  
  
 _"...oh, right, that may be important. Adam Aceti is none other than the slippery snake himself, Lionel Dante Thompson, alias Deceit!"_  Roman announced.

Patton, Era, and Astrit looked on in utter surprise. Chelsea, on the other hand, hit the table with her hand.  _"I knew it!"_  
  
 _"No you didn't, quit trying to cover for yourself,"_  Era replied with a bemused smirk at her girlfriend.  
  
 _"Seriously? Deceit is here?"_  Patton's eyes were wide.   
  
 _"...what should we do?"_  Astrit frowned.   
  
 _"What do you mean?"_  Roman furrowed his brow in confusion.  
  
 _"Well, he's still wanted by the Ministry isn't he? He's a fugitive,"_ Astrit pointed out.

 _"...well I don't think we should turn him in,"_  Roman admitted.  
  
 _"Nor do I,"_  Logan agreed.  _"Does anyone present wish to do that?"_  
  
Everyone exchanged glances, but no one verbalized any sort of disagreement with Roman and Logan.  
  
 _"So what do we have to decide then? Obviously we're going to keep his secret,"_  Astrit frowned.  
  
 _"There is a great difference between keeping his secret and continuing to treat him in the same fashion we were while we were under the impression that he was Professor Picani's nephew,"_  Era noted.  
  
 _"Precisely,"_  Logan agreed.  _"Do we continue to accept him as a new friend, possibly even inviting him to these meetings? Or shall we take a different route now that we know his true identity?"_


	8. Chapter 8

Virgil did a quick survey of the Slytherin Common Room as he entered. The Common Room was still packed with people, so it took a moment or so for Virgil to locate who he was looking for. From what Virgil could tell, his dorm mates were all in the Common Room. Good, their dorm should be nearly empty then.

Virgil made his way across the room, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible. He wasn't looking to socialize with anyone in the Common Room; he just wanted to get to their dorm. He was fortunate enough to make it across the room with little interruption. One of his dorm mates recognized him and waved, but was already in the midst of socializing with a couple of friends.

As expected, when Virgil entered the 7th year boys' dorm, there was only one other person inside. Said person glanced up in surprise, clearly not expecting someone else to enter the dorm so soon.

Virgil turned and waved his wand, casting a nonverbal muffling charm on the door to the dorm. He handed Deceit a note that read  _we need to talk_.

 Deceit arched an eyebrow.  _"And you think that's enough to ensure that no one will happen upon what we say in here?"_  He pointed his own wand toward the door.  _"Colloportus!"_  He then eyed Virgil's pad and paper.  _"Be sure to burn that after we're done talking here."_

Virgil understood why Deceit was so adamant on protecting his secret. Even before Virgil and others recognized the true identity of Adam Aceti, Deceit was never trying particularly hard to conceal his identity from Virgil and the others. Virgil and the others already knew his whereabouts beforehand. He was still a fugitive, however, and that meant that outside of their small group,  _no one_  at Hogwarts could know Deceit's identity.

Even using the nickname Deceit wouldn't work, as there were undoubtedly students and staff at the school who recalled that Lionel Thompson was commonly addressed as such by friends and enemies in his peer group alike. Deceit, Renilda, and Professor Picani undoubtedly put a lot of time and effort into making this disguise for Deceit. They'd have to refer to him as Adam in public from now on.

_Your secret is safe with me,_  Virgil wrote, then showed it to his brother.

Deceit let out a snort.  _"Because I actually have a choice in the matter,"_  he commented in a sardonic tone, folding his arms across his chest and raising an eyebrow as if to say 'you _have_ to do better than that'. Virgil realized he had a point. Virgil and the others had all the power here. They could  _turn Deceit in_  if they wanted to, and there was little that Deceit could do about it other than flee from the school. As nice as it felt to be in a position of power for once, that wasn't why he came here. He didn't come to flaunt his position of power over Deceit, though he could not deny that it was  _nice_  that Deceit recognized that he was at their mercy, after feeling as though he were at his  _brother's_  mercy for so long.

_You may not have a choice in that, but you do have a choice in something else,_  Virgil scribbled out. 

_"Do I? How nice,"_  Deceit replied.  _"What, do I get to choose what pajamas I wear to bed? I suppose I'll take what I can get,"_  the elder of the two rolled his eyes.

Virgil rolled his own eyes in return.  _Stop being so overdramatic._

_"But when else am I going to get the chance to flex my dramatic muscles?"_  Deceit huffed.

Virgil had to admit that Deceit had a point. While posing as Adam, he'd have to play a part so as not to be caught. Honestly, Deceit was doing a great job of it thus far. Virgil  _had_ , of course, noted that there was something strange about Adam Aceti, he'd chalked it up to the young man being Professor Picani's nephew and thus knowing far more than he actually should.

It made him uncomfortable, if he had to be honest, though relieved that it  _only_  turned out to be Deceit. What if another impostor joined their group? What if Virgil and the others failed to catch the second impostor, and it resulted in someone hurt or worse?

_"Hello, Earth to Virgil,"_  Deceit snapped his fingers in Virgil's face.

Virgil hissed in return.

_"Oh good, I was beginning to wonder if you'd taken a trip to Mars,"_  Deceit drawled.

Virgil rolled his eyes once more.  _Anyway, we're not only willing to keep your secret, but we're willing to let you join us._

_"Oh goodie, I'm honored. Truly, I am."_

_I don't just mean as a front, as Adam Aceti the new kid. I mean we want you to join us as Lionel Thompson, older brother and friend,_  Virgil admitted at last.

_"...what's the catch?"_  Deceit eyed him up and down. 

Virgil frowned. _There is no catch._

_"No catch? Forgive me if I find that difficult to believe, given how our relationship has panned out over the years,"_  Deceit huffed.

Alright, he could see Deceit's point in this instance, but it was a two-way street, and both parties were privy to such actions in the past. 

Hell, that was part of the reason why he was doing this in the first place, even if there were still a few misgivings on either side. This would be a major step toward alleviating said misgivings, as Logan pointed out.

  _That's exactly why I'm extending you this offer,_  Virgil wrote.

_"...I dunno, still sounds like there's a catch involved here,"_  Deceit folded his arms across his chest.

_You picked the name Adam because you wanted a new beginning,_  Virgil continued.

Deceit rolled his eyes.  _"That was Logan's theory, I never said such a thing-"_

_Well here's one staring you in the face. Take it or leave it,_  Virgil arched an eyebrow, as if to say 'your move'. 


	9. Chapter 9

Classes were still review, for the most part. Thus Virgil was not surprised when the Potions Professor pulled out a familiar looking potion.  
  
It was familiar, but Virgil couldn't place it. Logan's hand, of course, was up in a flash. A few other students raised their hands as well. Virgil was surprised to see that  _Deceit_  was one of them. Virgil, Logan, and Chelsea were all seated at one table, much as they had the year before. However, as Elliott graduated, they could not round off the table the way they had the year before, and thus Deceit took their spot as the fourth person at their Potions table.  
  
 _"Yes, Adam?"_  the professor inquired.   
  
 _"It's Polyjuice Potion,"_  Deceit responded, eying the potion as he spoke.  
  
 _"Very good, take five points for Slytherin! This is Polyjuice Potion! As some of you may know, this potion takes a long time to brew - far too long for us to hope to accomplish in a day. In fact, we will brew the potion over the course of two days, and then we will let it set for an extended period of time,"_  the Professor explained.  
  
 _"We'll be brewing the potion?"_  a girl questioned with a frown.  
  
 _"Of course! This is NEWT level potions, after all,"_  the professor replied.  
  
 _"Least we don't have to try the Potions ourselves. I hear that can be weird and sometimes painful!"_  a boy chimed in.  
  
The professor grinned.  _"Actually, we will be trying. You will take a hair from a classmate on the day we test the Potions, and that classmate will take one of your hairs. If you have brewed the potion properly, you should temporarily assume the form of your partner."_  
  
 _"And what if we don't brew the potion correctly? Could that hurt you or your partner...or worse?"_ another boy asked.  
  
 _"There is a minute possibility that it could, yes, but also bear in mind that I will be present to undue any mishaps that you may face. In the unlikely event that these remedies fail, the Hospital Wing is always an option as well,"_  the professor responded.  
  
That wasn't in the  _least_  bit comforting, but Virgil was able to let out a sigh and roll his shoulders to try to relieve some of the tension. He'd done this one successfully the year before, as had his friends, so that served as a confidence boost.

That didn't mean that there weren't opportunities for mishaps, of course.

He could recall Elliott telling them about his brother's experience in the class, and though he'd managed to escape that  _last_  time, perhaps he'd just gotten lucky.  
  
None of his friends looked particularly perturbed, however, so Virgil figured that he was probably overreacting. It certainly wouldn't be the last time he did that, nor was it the first.  
  
It wasn't until a matter of complete happenstance caused him to take a closer look at 'Adam' that he realized he wasn't the  _only_  one uncomfortable. His face was blank, entirely unreadable, but he had his hands folded together on the table, and his hands...his hands were  _shaking_.  
  
Virgil didn't have a chance to pass his brother a note or communicate with him in any way before people began shuffling about - Chelsea and Logan included. Virgil glanced up at them with a quizzical expression.  
  
 _"We're getting supplies for us to start brewing the potion, weren't you paying attention?"_  Chelsea asked.  
  
No, he was too busy worrying about what could possibly go  _wrong_  with this whole arrangement, then worrying about his  _brother_.  
  
...huh. He was actually worried about Deceit...no,  _for_  Deceit. That was a new one.  
  
He waited in line, fetching his supplies. He was surprised to see Deceit still seated.   
  
Deceit's hands were no longer  _shaking_. His hands were still clasped together though, tight as could be.  
  
Once Logan, Virgil, and Chelsea were back at their seats Deceit rose to his feet at once and made his way over to the supply cupboards.   
  
 _"What's the matter with him?"_  Chelsea muttered as Deceit walked off, once she was certain he was out of earshot.  
  
 _"I too noticed that he seems uncharacteristically preoccupied today,"_  Logan frowned.

It wasn't until class let out that Virgil and the others were able to make any progress toward figuring out what was bothering Deceit.  
  
 _You ok?_  Virgil passed a note to him as they were walking out of the classroom.  
  
Deceit let out a chuckle that sounded  _much_  too forced to be genuine. Deceit was usually fairly adept at lying - hence his nickname - but he either didn't  _care_  that a ten year old could see right through this, or, more likely, he was too riled up to maintain a poker face.  
  
And if the latter was indeed the explanation, that was worrisome.   
  
 _"Absolutely peachy, thank you,"_  Deceit responded, plastering a fake smile onto his face to go with the ensemble.  
  
 _"Yeaaaaaaaah no, I'm pretty sure you're lying about that,"_  Chelsea observed, having approached Deceit from the other side.  
  
 _"I fail to see how that is any different than my typical daily interactions,"_  Deceit let out a snort.  
  
 _"But it is,"_  Logan countered.  _"You still utter falsehoods rather frequently, yes, but I have noted a marked improvement. In general, you tend to be more honest with us now than you have ever been."_  
  
 _"Your point is?"_  Deceit glared.  
  
 _"Our point is that it's painfully obvious that something's bothering you, and we're going to keep bugging you until we find out what it is,"_  Chelsea placed her arm around Deceit's shoulder.  
  
Deceit jerked away at once.  _"And why would you bother?"_  
  
 _"Because that's how friendship works, bonehead,"_  Chelsea rolled her eyes.  
  
Deceit's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at one of Virgil's friends actually going so far as to  _call_ him a friend. He opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it, letting out a sigh instead.  _"One would think it would be obvious what is bothering me."_  
  
 _"Clearly it is not, otherwise we would not be asking for clarification,"_  Logan furrowed his brow.  
  
Deceit shook his head.  _"For a person who prides himself so much on his intelligence, you can be almost painfully obtuse at times."_  
  
 _"Excuse me?"_  Logan reeled back. Deceit clearly hit a nerve with that one, and Virgil took an automatic step forward in defense of his boyfriend.  
  
Deceit arched an eyebrow upward.  _"What possible reason would I have to be upset that we are brewing Polyjuice Potion in Potions?"_  the question was posed in a sarcastic tone, but Virgil suspected it was an actual question.  
  
Logan's eyes slowly widened in recognition. Chelsea's were next. Not long after, it hit Virgil like a ton of bricks.  
  
 _"Got there at last, have you?"_  Deceit huffed.  
  
...how was Deceit going to get out of this one? No...how were  _they_  going to get out of this one?


	10. Chapter 10

_"We still have a month to come up with a solution, I don't see why you're so bent out of shape,"_  Roman muttered to Virgil as they sat down in their usual abandoned classroom on the fourth floor.  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow as if to say 'really?'.  
  
 _"I mean I know you're bent out of shape more often than not..."_ At that, Virgil smacked Roman's arm.   
  
 _"Argh! I've been maimed! Come quick, my love...there may not be much time..."_  Roman gasped, holding his arm in a fashion that suggested he'd been grievously injured.  
  
 _"I see the Drama King is up to his usual antics,"_  Era remarked with a wry smirk as she and Chelsea rounded the corner  
  
 _"The Drama King?"_  Roman glanced over, immediately pasting a mock offended expression on his face.  _"How dare..."_  The expression faltered.  _"Actually, I like that. I think I may start using it more often."_  
  
 _"Shouldn't you be the Drama Prince, though?"_  Patton pointed out with a smile.  
  
 _"I mean I could be, but a King has so much more clout!"_  Roman professed.  
  
 _"I believe he is referring to the pun inherent in your name,"_  Logan noted with a sigh.  
  
 _"...oh, fair point. Though it won't remain Prince for long!"_  Roman announced.  
  
Virgil blinked, taking a closer look at Roman upon hearing that. What did he mean it wouldn't remain Prince for long?  
  
 _"My parents are thrilled to hear that you're taking our last name, Roro!"_  Patton beamed.  
  
Ohhhhhhh. The wedding. On one hand, Virgil was a tad surprised to hear that Roman would be taking Patton's name, but on the other hand...he wasn't. Roman had every reason to want to rid himself of the last name that caused him so much trouble. Virgil knew that feeling all too well. Roman had the opportunity to start anew, why wouldn't he take it?  
  
Virgil was honestly a tad jealous.  
  
 _"I think weddings are highly overrated,"_  "Adam" piped up unexpectedly. It was his first visit to the abandoned classroom, and Virgil had a feeling that his brother was being uncharacteristically quiet because he was trying to take everything in.  
  
 _"...does that mean you're excited for the wedding or do you actually mean that? I can never figure out what you mean,"_ Chelsea frowned, furrowing her brow.  
  
 _"I mean what I said,"_  he reiterated.  
  
 _"I honestly have to agree,"_  Logan admitted. Virgil's stomach lurched.  _"Marriage is one thing, but I would prefer a smaller ceremony myself, if any."_  
  
Virgil let out a sigh of relief, the corners of his mouth twitching upward slightly. That was exactly how Virgil felt, and he was glad that Logan wasn't against  _marriage_  necessarily.  
  
 _"I could do without it all, to be honest,"_  Deceit commented nonchalantly.  
  
 _"I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing,"_  Astrit admitted.  
  
 _"Oh, you two will feel better when you meet the right person!"_ Roman smiled knowingly.  
  
 _"Maybe,"_  Astrit conceded.  
  
 _"That won't happen,"_  Deceit said with a shrug.  
  
 _"Oh? What makes you say that?"_  Roman arched an eyebrow upward at that.  
  
 _"Because I have no interest in that sort of thing,"_  Deceit clarified.  _"I know it may be hard for you to comprehend, but aromantic people are a thing, Roman."_  
  
 _"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. I gotcha. Sorry, didn't realize what you were getting at at first,"_  Roman admitted.  _"In that case, no, I doubt you will ever find 'the right person'."_  
  
 _"Well, I dunno about that,"_  Era remarked.  
  
Virgil turned to Era in confusion, wondering what she was getting at. He didn't always understand Deceit, but he thought Deceit was being pretty clear in this instance.  
  
 _"What?"_  Era asked when she caught not only Virgil but Roman and Chelsea glancing at her in confusion.  _"Queerplatonic relationships are a thing!"_  
  
Deceit's eyes widened and he looked...dare Virgil say it,  _hopeful_?  _"You know what QPRs are?"_  
  
Era gave a slight shrug in response.  _"I try to learn as much about the LGBT+ community as I can, and that includes the A - everything the A can stand for, from agender to aromantic to asexual."_  
  
Virgil and Logan exchanged knowing looks at that.  
  
The corners of Deceit's mouth twitched upward at that.  _"Well. I'm completely unsurprised."_  It was clear from his tone that he  _was_  lying this time around.  
  
 _"Should we get back to business?"_  Logan remarked.  
  
Roman let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.  _"Yes Logan, you sure know how to ruin a moment."_  
  
Logan looked completely nonplussed.  _"Excuse me?"_  
  
Deceit's smile faded and Virgil began to wonder if Roman was actually  _right_  for once.  _"The lot of you don't need to worry about it."_  
  
 _"Deceit, it's okay, you don't have to lie-"_  Patton began, but Deceit cut him off.  
  
 _"It's not a lie, though. This is my problem to solve, the rest of you need not get involved,"_  Deceit told him.  
  
 _"Falsehood,"_  Logan protested.  _"This is just as much our problem as it is yours."_  
  
 _"How so?"_  Deceit asked in a skeptic tone.   
  
 _"Hope you don't mind company in Azkaban if you get caught,"_ Chelsea remarked sardonically.  
  
 _"Yeah...we all know where you, a wanted fugitive, are, and we haven't told anyone. If you go back to Azkaban, we're all coming with you,"_  Roman admitted.  _"So...you're going to get our help, whether you want it or not."_  
  
 _"Is there any way you can just...skip class the day of the Polyjuice Potion testing?"_  Patton wondered.  
  
 _"Oh yes, that'll help. The professor won't just want me to do it the next day instead,"_  Deceit rolled his eyes.  
  
 _"...good point,"_  Patton frowned.  
  
 _"Could just use one of Professor Picani's hairs?"_  Astrit suggested.  
  
 _"Still wouldn't work,"_  Era chimed in.  _"That would turn whoever ingested the potion containing the hair into an adult Professor Picani, and his cover would still be blown."_  
  
 _"It's too bad you can't just combine the two potions,"_  Patton said with a sigh.  
  
Logan snapped his fingers at once.   
  
 _What? You can't, can you?_  Virgil scribbled on and pushed the note toward his boyfriend.  
  
 _"To be honest, I am not certain,"_  Logan remarked in response to Virgil's note with a determined grin that Virgil wasn't so sure that he liked.  _"There is only one way to solve that - we are going to experiment."_  
  
 _I was afraid you might say that,_  Virgil wrote with a heavy sigh and a one-sided smile.


	11. Chapter 11

'Experimenting' would prove to be a tad more difficult than Logan hoped. First he had to gather up the resources. Then he had to make sure the mixture was exactly right to minimize the chance of something going terribly wrong. Then he had to find someone to test the combination potion on.  
  
And he had to get all of this done in a month's time.  
  
It was for this reason that Patton and Roman were doing their darndest to get Logan to take a  _break_  for a change, before he overworked himself.  
  
 _"Hogsmeade weekend is coming up!"_  Patton declared.  _"You can't miss the first Hogsmeade weekend!"_  
  
Logan glanced up from his book at that.  _"Ah yes, that did slip my mind,"_  he frowned.  _"I did want to check and see if the bookstore got the latest book by my favorite author...but I really need to work on this potion for Adam."_  
  
 _"You have a month to work on that thing!"_  Roman protested.  
  
 _"Three weeks and five days,"_  Logan corrected.  _"And that is only if everything goes smoothly on the first try. I would like to finish with this iteration of this potion as soon as possible. That way, in the event that it fails to work properly, I will have the requisite time to make corrections to the formula."_  
  
 _"And you'll have plenty of time! You can't devote yourself to this potion and solely this potion for an entire month!"_  Patton urged him.  
  
 _"Besides, you and Virgil could have a nice romantic date at Madam Puddifoot's..."_  Roman suggested.  
  
"Ugh," Virgil muttered, because he could at least voice  _that_ much without the curse's interference.  
  
 _"Bah,"_  Logan said concurrently.

 _"Oh come on, surely you can see how romantic that would be!"_ Roman huffed.  
  
 _"Just because Virgil and I do not fancy a date at Madam Puddifoot's does not mean that we do not understand romance,"_ Logan countered.  
  
 _"What would you consider a romantic night, then?"_  Roman inquired.  
  
 _"A quiet night at the Astronomy Tower, gazing up at the stars,"_ the corners of Logan's mouth twitched upward at the thought.  
  
Virgil could not help but smile as well.  
  
 _"Awww, that's so cute!"_  Patton squeaked.  
  
 _"I suppose that is romantic in it's own way,"_  Roman admitted begrudgingly.  _"But my point still stands - You should go to Hogsmeade for Virgil, if nothing else."_  
  
Virgil was grateful that no one noticed the way he winced whenever the word 'Hogsmeade' was brought up - or if they did, they did not draw attention to it. Nevertheless, he felt as though he needed to clarify where he stood on this issue.  
  
 _I'm not going,_  Virgil admitted.  
  
 _"What?! Not going? But its the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year! How could you not go?"_  Roman gaped.  
  
Virgil tensed, but tried not to show it.  _I have homework to work on._  
  
 _"So do it before or after, duh!"_  Roman protested.  
  
 _I can't. It's a big project,_  Virgil hastily wrote.  
  
Roman let out a drawn out sigh.  _"What am I going to do with you two?"_  
  
 _"Absolutely nothing, as Virgil and I are both willing and able to make our own decisions on the matter,"_  Logan retorted.  
  
 _"Whatever,"_  Roman sighed, seeing at last that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Virgil and Logan.

As Roman and Patton departed for the grounds, Logan turned to Virgil at once.  _"You do not actually have a project to work on."_ It wasn't stated as a question, it was stated as an observation.  
  
Virgil let out a sigh.  _I do,_  he replied.  _For Care of Magical Creatures._  
  
 _"But that is not why you are passing up the Hogsmeade trip,"_ Logan surmised. Virgil tried not to tense at the word Hogsmeade,  _knowing_  how intently Logan was observing him, but he was unsuccessful.  
  
Virgil shook his head.   
  
 _"That is understandable. I will remain behind to keep you company then,"_  Logan declared.  
  
 _You don't have to do that, you said you had a book you wanted to check out,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"I also have this potion to work on. Loathe as I am to admit it, it would be optimal to my mental health to take a brief respite from working on this potion. I do not desire a trip to Hogsmeade, however. First Hogsmeade weekends are always too busy for my liking anyhow,"_  Logan admitted.  
  
 _Okay, but you should go to the next one, even if I don't,_  Virgil replied.  
  
 _"I will agree to that, but only if you will permit me to buy something for you while I'm there,"_  Logan proposed.  
  
 _Fine,_  Virgil wrote after a moment's deliberation. He appreciated that Logan wanted to stay back with him, but Virgil had  _no_ intent to step foot in Hogsmeade ever again, and he did not want to keep Logan from Hogsmeade forever. If those were the terms of the agreement, Virgil supposed he had to agree to them.

He hoped Roman wouldn't give them too much grief about it. He knew Roman was excited, and that Roman wanted to share that excitement with his friends, but he needed to understand that not everyone wanted to travel to Hogsmeade.  
  
When even the  _name_  of the village was enough to cause Virgil's heart rate to quicken, he didn't want to go anywhere near Hogsmeade. If just the name of the village generated that sort of reaction, how would he react if he actually stepped foot into the village. If he actually  _saw_  the shack, stepped foot into the shack...  
  
 _"Virgil, are you alright?"_  Logan was standing in the doorway, glancing back at him with a concerned frown on his features.  
  
Virgil smiled at Logan and shot Logan a thumbs up. If Logan noticed that the smile did not quite reach Virgil's eyes, he mercifully did not make note of it as they exited the room.

 _In for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, out for eight seconds..._  Virgil thought to himself as they continued on their way. Thankfully, this had not blossomed into a panic attack, but it would still take Virgil a while to bring himself back from the edge...


	12. Chapter 12

_I thought you agreed that you'd spend this time taking a break from working on that potion,_  Virgil wrote to Logan in a note as they entered the library.   
  
_"I am taking a break-"_  Logan began, only to be cut off by a snort from Virgil.  _"What?"_  Logan arched his eyebrow.  
  
_Doing research for the potion isn't taking a break from the potion,_  Virgil countered.  
  
Logan let out a sigh of frustration.  
  
Fortunately, Roman didn't bother Virgil and Logan  _too_  much about their decision to stay behind. Virgil wasn't sure if time helped Roman to see reason or if Patton talked some sense into him, but it came as a relief. There were a few lighthearted jabs here and there, but that was typical for Roman.   
  
He did inform Virgil and Logan that he and Patton would meet with Era, Chelsea, and Astrit at Honeydukes and that they were bringing back sweets 'whether Virgil and Logan liked it or not'.  
  
But Roman  _did_  make Virgil promise to steer Logan away from anything related to the potion he was formulating for Deceit, and Virgil intended to keep up his end of the bargain.  
  
He just wasn't sure  _how_. Logan could be incessantly stubborn when he wanted to be.  
  
Virgil stopped in his tracks when he spotted a huge Astronomy book at the end of the aisle.  
  
Virgil accompanied Logan to the library often enough to recognize that he'd never seen that book before - not even at  _Flourish and Blotts_ , and he and Logan worked there for a couple of months!

 _"What is it?"_  Logan paused, following Virgil's gaze toward the book in question. He let out a small gasp.  _"I'd been wondering if the Hogwarts library had that particular book."_  
  
_Bingo,_  Virgil thought with a smirk.  
  
Logan grabbed this book, as well as a few others. He started toward the other side of the library, glancing back at Virgil over his shoulder.  _"By the way, I recognize what you're doing."_  
  
Virgil's smile fell at once as his eyes widened.   
  
_"Thank you,"_  Logan remarked with a small smile of his own and continued to walk.  
  
Virgil let out a sigh of relief. He might have gotten busted, but at least Logan wasn't upset about it.  
  
_"Should not be too difficult to find a table,"_  Logan noted. Virgil had to agree. A quick sweep of the library told Virgil that there were only a few others in the library, and the majority of them were first and second years - students unable to travel to Hogsmeade, in other words.  
  
There was one older student on the other side of the library, however. An older student that caught Virgil's attention not only for the fact that he stood out in the midst the younger students, but more so because he was  _familiar_.  
  
"Is that Astrit?" Virgil blurted out at once.  
  
Logan blinked a few times, peering at Virgil in confusion.  _"What was that?"_  
  
"Is that..." Virgil started, then slapped his forehead with his hand as he recognized that Logan was unable to understand what he was saying. In lieu of writing out the question he was asking, Virgil pointed in the direction of the familiar young man, hoping that Logan's gaze would shift to where he was pointing.  
  
Sure enough, Logan glanced across the room in the direction Virgil was pointing in and let out an almost inaudible gasp. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and squinted slightly, as though this would allow him a clearer look at what he was seeing.  _"Is that Astrit?"_  
  
At least Virgil wasn't the only one.  
  
Virgil and Logan made their way to the other side of the library. The closer they came, the more evident it was that Virgil and Logan were not the only two in their friend group to skip out on the coveted first Hogsmeade trip of the year.

 _"Greetings, Astrit,"_  Logan said once they were close enough to talk to the fifth year.  
  
Astrit looked up at once, a puzzled expression on his face until he caught sight of Virgil and Logan. Logan nodded in Astrit's direction. Virgil retrieved one of his hands from his pockets to give a small wave.  
  
Astrit smiled.  _"Hey guys. Just working on some OWL preparation work."_  
  
_"If you ever need any assistance with that, I would be happy to oblige. I devised a study system in my own fifth year that suited my needs well, and I would be happy to give you a few pointers,"_ Logan replied.

 _You never told me about that,_  Virgil wrote in a note to Logan.  
  
_"We were not as close then as we are now. In addition, I had no idea whether my methods would be successful or not. They were not put to the test until the end of my fifth year, at which point it was too late to share my discovery with others,"_  Logan divulged.  
  
_Of course it was gonna work. You're the smartest guy in our year,_  Virgil replied with a slight grin.  
  
Logan's cheeks turned red and he cleared his throat.  _"Yes well...how are you doing today, Astrit?"_  
  
Astrit chuckled.  _"I'm well. Are you still working on that potion?"_  
  
_"I am, though I am currently taking a small break from my efforts at the behest of both Virgil and Roman. Truth be told, I am surprised that you are not in Hogsmeade. Roman and Patton were under the impression that they would be meeting you in Honeydukes alongside Era and Chelsea,"_  Logan noted.  
  
Astrit jolted slightly at the word Hogsmeade, and Virgil very quickly realized that Astrit's reasons for staying away from Hogsmeade were similar to Virgil's own. _"Didn't really want to go today."_  
  
_Or go ever again?_  Virgil jotted out, sliding the slip of paper toward Astrit so that he could read it better. All the while, he wore a wry yet knowing smirk on his face.  
  
_"Or go ever again,"_  Astrit admitted.  _"You too, eh?"_    
  
Virgil might not plan to step foot in Hogsmeade the entire school year, but at least he was not the only one.


	13. Chapter 13

Virgil, Logan, and Astrit decided to wait in the entrance hall for Patton, Roman, Era, and Chelsea to return.  
  
Virgil expected to see them all chipper and happy, carrying bags upon bags of goodies and trying to force some of their so-called 'loot' on Virgil, Logan, and Astrit.  
  
They  _were_  carrying bags, but the expressions on their face were anything but chipper.   
  
 _"The nerve!"_  Roman scowled.  
  
 _"I am definitely going to publish an article in the Hogwarts Herald about this"_  Chelsea growled.  
  
What had them so riled up?  
  
 _"I don't know if that's such a good idea. What if they see it?"_ Patton said in a hesitant voice.  
  
 _"Good! I want them to see it!"_  Chelsea nearly shouted.  
  
 _"What the hell happened?"_  Astrit asked, voicing what he, Virgil, and Logan were all wondering.  
  
 _"A mob,"_  Roman's expression was stony.  _"They were gathered outside the Hogsmeade Town Hall. They want a new measure passed for the village of Hogsmeade."_  
  
 _"What sort of measure?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
 _"They want to ban Hogwarts students from Hogsmeade,"_  Era informed them.  
  
 _"What?! Why?"_  Astrit gaped.  
  
 _"That's the worst part,"_  Era admitted.  
  
 _"They want to ban Hogwarts students because Muggleborns are permitted to attend Hogwarts,"_  Roman snarled.  
  
 _"...excuse me?"_  Logan stared.  _"I must have heard incorrectly...how does that even correlate?"_  
  
 _"Oh, they have their arguments. They claim that Muggleborns attending Hogwarts could bring their Muggle relatives to Hogsmeade, thus threatening Hogsmeade's security and the security of the Wizarding World as a whole,"_  Chelsea sneered.  
  
 _"That would never happen! Muggleborns are wizards too!"_  Astrit protested.

 _"You know that. I know that. And I'm pretty sure they know that,"_ Era sighed.  
  
 _"But that means that they're lying. Why lie? What is that going to get them?"_  Astrit clenched his hands into fists.  
  
 _"Purity,"_  a voice from behind them announced. Virgil turned at once.  
  
 _"Purity?"_  Logan narrowed his eyes at Deceit, donning his "Adam" guise per usual.  
  
 _"I do believe I spoke as clearly as I could just now,"_  Deceit retorted.  
  
 _"You rarely ever speak as clearly as you could,"_  Roman noted. Deceit rolled his eyes.  
  
 _"What do you mean by purity?"_  Patton frowned, folding his arms across his chest. Virgil realized why he was uncomfortable and moved closer to his best friend, trying to provide comfort to him without drawing too much attention to it and making Patton even  _more_  uncomfortable.  
  
 _"Its not about security. It's about purity. Claiming that its about the security of the wizarding world allows them to more openly express views that would otherwise be shunned,"_  Era sighed, brushing a stray hair from her face.  _"And possibly recruit others to those same viewpoints."_  
  
 _"I saw one of them speaking to an elderly resident who seemed interested in what they had to say,"_  Patton admitted.

 _Did it look like they might succeed?_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"What do you mean?"_  Roman asked.  
  
 _In banning Hogwarts students,_  Virgil clarified. Though he would not be personally impacted by the ban, as he wholeheartedly intended to stay away from Hogsmeade anyway, he was staunchly against everything the ban stood for.  
  
 _"I...don't know, honestly,"_  Roman frowned.  
  
 _"I'm sure they wouldn't actually do it!"_  Patton tried to assure Virgil, but Virgil noticed that Virgil didn't sound entirely sure himself.   
  
 _"While we can't guarantee that these bastards would be kept from getting their way, we can counteract their influence,"_ Chelsea noted.  
  
 _"Counter their influence?"_  Deceit arched an eyebrow.   
  
 _"Yes,"_  Chelsea replied.  
  
 _"How would we counter their influence?"_  Astrit blinked.  
  
 _"The same way they're sowing their own influence - by using our own voices."_  The corners of Era's mouth twitched upward as she glanced over at Chelsea.  _"Right Chels?"_  
  
 _"Right, babe,"_  Chelsea pulled Era closer to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, leading Era to chuckle.

Virgil didn't want to ruin the moment by mentioning that not all of them  _had_  voices with which they could speak.  
  
He understood that 'voice' was not necessarily  _meant_  to be taken literal, but it sure made it a lot easier to have one's protests heard when they could shout and otherwise make noise. Intelligible noise too, not the gibberish that the curse warped his verbal speech into.  
  
The group parted at this point, heading in the direction of their dorms. Chelsea, Era, Logan, Astrit, and Era headed upstairs, Chelsea already talking animatedly with whoever was paying attention to her about the article she planned to write in the Hogwarts Herald.  
  
 _"Why stick to the Hogwarts Herald when you've been published in the Daily Prophet?"_  Virgil heard Roman ask.  
  
 _"That was anonymous, remember? Ugh, I accomplished my dream at only seventeen and I had to do it anonymously. Don't remind me,"_  he heard Chelsea lament just before the group fell out of hearing range.  
  
 _"She's the one who published that article?"_  Deceit asked.  
  
Virgil turned to his brother, recalling that Deceit had not yet reunited with them when the article was published. Virgil nodded in reply to Deceit's inquiry.  
  
 _"She not only wrote the article, but she interviewed Virgil for it!"_ Patton further elaborated as they reached the bottom of the stairs.  
  
Deceit made a humming noise and nodded, deliberating.  
  
 _"Anyway, I think we should all try to put what happened today behind us and relax! I'll see you guys later!"_  Patton waved to Virgil and Deceit as Patton made his way to the Hufflepuff Common Room.  
  
 _"I agree with Patton. It'll be super easy to put all of that behind us. I doubt we'll encounter any reminders through the course of our daily lives,"_  Deceit commented, though Virgil noted that sarcasm was practically  _dripping_  from his voice.  
  
Virgil hoped that Patton was right and that Deceit was wrong.  
  
The Slytherin Common Room was bustling with activity. Virgil let out a grunt and jerked his head in the direction of the dorms. Deceit let out a snort, yet walked along with Virgil in the direction of the dorms. Virgil knew that Deceit knew full well that Virgil didn't like spending much time in the Commom Room when it was bustling with activity like this. He found it too overwhelming.  
  
They nearly made it to the dorm when Virgil overheard a snippet of conversation that made his blood run cold.  
  
 _"I was thrilled to see those protestors outside the town hall. It's about time someone stands up for wizarding secrecy!"_  a young man declared. To make matters worse, his friends whooped and hollered in agreement afterward.  
  
Virgil cast a glance at Deceit, who worn a sad smile on his face and lifted an eyebrow as if to say 'see?'.  
  
Deceit was right and Patton was wrong, but Virgil could tell that even  _Deceit_  considered that a hollow victory, given the matter at hand.


	14. Chapter 14

Life went on at Hogwarts, though the protests in Hogsmeade were still a major topic of conversation among students and staff at Hogwarts alike.   
  
Slytherin might have a reputation for being the house with the most Purists, but Virgil knew that the toxic rhetoric was more widespread than that. In one instance Roman shared a story of a similar incident to the one that Virgil and Deceit happened upon that occurred in the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room.  
  
At first it seemed as though the older students as well as the staff were fully aware of what was happening, but that illusion shattered when Patton came stomping out of the Great Hall one day.  
  
 _"Are you alright, Patton?"_  Logan wondered upon seeing the stony expression on Virgil's face.  
  
 _"Purists are disgusting,"_  Patton snarled.  
  
Virgil and Logan tried to press Patton for more information, but soon realized that they weren't going to get anything out of Patton while he was this riled up.  
  
It wasn't until Virgil met up with Toby later on that he learned what had Patton so incensed.  _"Someone sent August and Seth a note that read 'Go Home Mudbloods' in class,"_  Toby confided.  
  
 _"They did what now?"_  Logan narrowed his eyes.  
  
 _"It was in Transfiguration, I think - I don't know, it was in a class that I don't have with them,"_  Toby added quietly.  
  
 _"They were punished, weren't they?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
 _"They were given lines,"_  Toby revealed.  
  
 _"...that's it?"_  Logan stared.  
  
Toby nodded.  
  
Logan's countenance turned hard, and he spun around.  _"If you'll excuse me, I have something I need to tend to."_  
  
Virgil blinked in surprise, starting after Logan.  
  
 _"I'm headed to the Ravenclaw Common Room. You won't be able to follow me there, Virgil,"_  Logan noted.  
  
Virgil nodded and stayed put, watching Logan as he headed up the stairs.  
  
 _"Where is he going?"_  Toby furrowed his brow in confusion.  
  
Virgil shrugged. As Logan's boyfriend he ought to know better than Toby, but he was just as confused as the third year was.  
  
Toby let out a sigh.  _"Mine's probably coming soon enough. I suppose I should just get ready for it."_  
  
At this point, Virgil realized that he couldn't continue their conversation through gestures, and thus retrieved his pad and pen from his pocket.  _For what?_  he scribbled out before showing what he wrote to Toby.

 _"My note,"_  Toby replied.  
  
 _Your note?_  Virgil asked.  
  
 _"They're my brothers. I'm just as much of a 'Mudblood' as they are,"_  Toby explained.  
  
Virgil held his pen over the paper, but wasn't sure what to write. He wanted to comfort Toby, but any attempt at doing so felt like it would be a lie. And though Toby was five years younger than him, he wasn't a  _kid_  - he was thirteen years old. He would see right through empty platitudes.  
  
 _"People have always asked me how I got into Slytherin, and not just other Slytherins,"_  he continued.  
  
 _There are plenty of non pureblood Slytherins though,_  Virgil countered.  
  
Toby let out a snort at that.  _"Yes, but most of the non pureblood Slytherins are at least half bloods. And it's not like I can hide my heritage - just about everyone in the school knows at least one member of my family."_  
  
 _You said they've always asked you this?_  Virgil frowned.  
  
 _"From my first day. It was pretty bad when I first started at Hogwarts,"_  Toby admitted.  
  
 _Why didn't you tell anyone?_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"Didn't want to bother anyone with it. Besides, who would I tell? It's not like I had very many friends at that point,"_  Toby gave a slight shrug.  
  
Virgil eyed Toby, wondering why this all seemed so familiar to him. It hit him at once, his eyes going wide.  
  
It seemed familiar because Virgil could  _relate_. He'd gone through similar experiences, similar motions. Though not ostracized for his blood, he found himself on the outs of the social hierarchy for other reasons.  
  
What's more, Toby's nonchalant reaction was painfully familiar as well. Toby might act as though it didn't bother him much, but he knew it bothered the third year more than he let on. Virgil would know - he put up the same walls himself when he was Toby's age.  
  
 _"Don't worry too much about it,"_  Toby's voice cut through Virgil's thoughts.   
  
 _Easier said than done,_  Virgil admitted.  
  
 _"I can handle myself,"_  Toby informed him.  
  
Given that Toby was a  _third year_  he found that hard to believe, but then again...Astrit  _did_  manage to trick and outsmart Dalibor in the Forbidden Forest a few years before, and  _he_  was a third year at the time.  
  
 _Just-_  Virgil began to write, then crossed the word out and started to write again.  _If you ever need to talk, even if it's just to vent about how shitty people can be, you can always come to me._  
  
 _"Nah, you've got your NEWTs to worry about, I wouldn't want to bother you with it,"_  Toby waved his hand.  
  
 _Dude, chatting for a few minutes isn't bothering me,_  Virgil countered.  _But if you don't want to talk to me you could always talk to your brother._  
  
Toby let out a noncommittal hum at that suggestion.  
  
 _I take it that's a no?_  Virgil wrote, unable to keep a chuckle from escaping.   
  
 _"It was a hmmm, actually,"_  Toby retorted.  _"I should get going. I have some homework to work on in my dorm."_  
  
 _Good luck,_  Virgil scribbled out. Toby turned to start gathering his things. Virgil tightened his grip on his pen, realizing that there was something else he wanted to say.  
  
Virgil cleared his throat to draw Toby's attention to him once more.  _Just keep in mind that you're not alone,_  he wrote.  
  
The corners of Toby's mouth slowly crept upward before he turned once more and went on his way.   
  
Virgil let out a sigh, scratching at the back of his head. Muggleborns getting bullied was something that  _always_ happened at Hogwarts, and it was foolish to pretend otherwise, but...it would also be foolish to ignore the uptick in such incidents since the protests in Hogsmeade began...


	15. Chapter 15

_"I'm just about finished with the potion,"_  Logan announced one day as he met Virgil in the Entrance Hall after he and Patton came in from Care of Magical Creatures.  
  
Virgil flashed Logan a thumbs up.  
  
 _"Everything should be adequate, but in the unlikely event that it is not, I still have two weeks to modify the mixture until it suits our purposes,"_  Logan elaborated.  
  
Virgil glanced around to make certain that no one was listening in. Though Logan did not divulge enough information to outright give away what the potion was for and  _who_  it was for, but Virgil didn't want anyone hearing even  _part_  of the conversation and getting nosy.  
  
 _"Would you be willing to discuss the extra credit with Adam?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
This was code. The 'extra credit' was the dual potion, and Adam...well, that part went without saying.  
  
Logan wanted Virgil to pass the message that the potion was ready for testing on to his brother. Virgil was likely to see Deceit  _long_  before Logan did, after all. Virgil therefore nodded in response to his boyfriend's request

Sure enough, Virgil found Deceit walking out of Professor Picani's office an hour later, and immediately pulled him aside.   
  
Virgil slipped him the note he'd already pre-written.  _Logan's ready to work on extra credit._  
  
Deceit let out a snort at that.  _"Isn't Logan always looking for extra credit?"_  But Virgil had no doubt that Deceit understood what he was saying, and Deceit motioned for him to lead the way.  
  
Virgil was mildly surprised by this, figuring that Deceit would want to take the lead, but he took it in stride. Virgil and Deceit made their way down the hall toward the abandoned classroom. They stepped inside, finding Logan standing over a small cauldron and stirring it.  
  
 _"Logan?"_  Deceit asked.  
  
Logan jumped.  
  
 _"Doing an amazing job standing guard I see,"_  Deceit smirked.  
  
Logan rolled his eyes.  _"I was putting the finishing touches on the potion."_  
  
 _"Shouldn't you have done that before you sent Virgil to fetch me?"_  Deceit wondered.  
  
Logan glowered as he set his ladle down.  _"There was no need to do so. The potion is finished,"_  he declared.  
  
 _"Oh good,"_  Deceit summoned a few vials.  _"Perhaps we should do a toast..."_  
  
 _"This is only a test sample, I will produce a larger cauldronful if it has the desired effect. I hardly believe there is enough here for the three of us,"_  Logan observed.  
  
Deceit let out a snort.  _"Oh Logan."_  
  
 _He's just being an ass,_  Virgil jotted down, then passed toward Logan.  
  
Deceit read it and chuckled.  _"Why thank you Virgil!"_  
  
 _"I don't believe that was supposed to be a compliment,"_  Logan eyed him.  
  
 _It's whatever,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
 _"How enlightening, Virgil,"_  Deceit teased.  _"Everything is so much more clear now!"_  
  
 _You're one to talk,_  Virgil retorted, though he smirked as he wrote.  
  
Logan took a deep breath.  _"Shall we?"_  He took a ladleful of potion and carefully drained it into one of the vials that Deceit summoned. He eyed the vial before dumping a small amount back into the cauldron. He passed the vial to Deceit.  
  
 _"Huh,"_  Deceit muttered as he held the vial at eye level, getting a closer glimpse of the deep yellow potion within.  
  
 _"Is it to your satisfaction?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
 _"Will it send me to the Hospital Wing?"_  Deceit replied.  
  
Logan looked taken aback at that.  _"I should hope not, so long as my calculations are correct."_  
  
Virgil cleared his throat to draw their attention back his way. He turned his pad so they could see it.  _Do we have a plan in place in case something goes wrong?"_  
  
Deceit lowered the potion and peered over at Logan.  _"Do we?"_  
  
 _"Why are you looking to me for the answer?"_  Logan arched a brow.  
  
 _"If I had to hazard a guess, it might be because you brewed the potion in the first place? Just going out on a limb here,"_  Deceit shrugged.  
  
Logan looked as though he wanted to whack Deceit over the head with the ladle in his left hand.

 _"Well do w-"_  Deceit began.  
  
Logan cut him off.  _"I had no specific plan, but I feel that our beat option is to notify Professor Picani in the event that something goes awry."_  
  
 _Professor Picani?_  Virgil wrote, surprised.  
  
 _"He is the only staff member in the school who possess full knowledge of our predicament,"_  Logan explained.  
  
 _Maybe we should have told him about this earlier,_  Virgil wrote with a sigh.

 _So we run and get Professor Picani if something happens to Deceit. Got it,_  Virgil jotted out. In the event of something like this, he wanted to know what to do in case everything went wrong. As this was an  _experimental_  potion, that feeling muliplied.  
  
He had faith THAT Logan did everything he could to ensure that the potion would be both safe and useful, but that was by means a guarantee. Not when they were testing a potion mixture that was never tried before.  
  
Deceit raised the vial to eye level once more peering into it, then held it to his lips.  
  
 _"Wait!"_  Logan shouted.  
  
Deceit jolted in surprise.  _"What?"_  he snapped.  
  
 _"Oh, I was just going to note that we should perform this test without any enchantments, so..."_ Logan cleared his throat and pointed his wand directly at Deceit.  _"Revelio!"_    
  
The effects of the prior de-aging and Polyjuice Potion were erased, leaving a very recognizable Deceit standing in the middle of the room.

 _"Now are we ready?"_  Deceit asked in a slightly annoyed tone.  
  
Logan nodded, satisfied.  _"You may sample the potion."_  
  
Deceit drew the potion to his mouth and drank it all at once.  
  
Virgil and Logan eyed him. Nothing happened. Virgil glanced over to Logan, who was smoothing out his tie and eyeing Deceit closely.   
  
Deceit let out a drawn out sigh, meeting Logan's eyes.  _"Wow Logan, you really outdid yourself this ti-"_  
  
And at that moment, Deceit's face began to  _bubble_ , much to Virgil's alarm.  
  
The potion was certainly doing  _something_.


	16. Chapter 16

Virgil's heart rate quickened. What was  _happening_? He turned to Logan, who alternated from observing Deceit to jotting something down in the notebook he held in his hands.  
  
The Slytherin's eyes widened, and he cleared his throat. Logan turned his attention to Virgil, who gestured frantically in Deceit's direction.  
  
 _"Yes yes, I am not too concerned at this point. The effects do some greater than they would be with a typical Polyjuice Potion, but this may simply be the result of the de-aging potion altering your brother's appearance at the exact same time,"_  Logan noted.  
  
Even if all of this was expected, Virgil didn't understand how Logan could remain so  _calm_. It was at that point that Virgil noticed that Logan's pen shook within his grasp, even when he was merely observing Deceit and not actually writing anything.  
  
 _So he's not as calm as he's pretending to be,_  Virgil thought to himself.  
  
Deceit, on the other hand, was taking his transformation in stride - at the very least, he wasn't crying out in pain and didn't seem particularly  _bothered_  by any of the sensations. This surprised Virgil, as he did  _not_  recall the experience of Polyjuice Potion being particularly pleasant. He quickly realized that Deceit was imbibing the potion  _frequently_ , and thus he'd probably built up a tolerance to the odd sensations that Polyjuice Potion generated in those taking the potion.  
  
It didn't look as though anything was going horribly wrong, which relieved Virgil, though he continued to eye Deceit's transformation closely. He wanted to be able to jump in if something  _did_ go wrong, so that he could fetch Professor Picani as soon as possible to set things right.  
  
They really  _should_  have notified Professor Picani of their intentions before doing this,  _why hadn't he suggested that_?

 _"Oh dear,"_  Virgil heard Logan murmur.  
  
 _"Oh dear? Just what is that supposed to mean?"_  Deceit snapped.  
  
Virgil turned to look at Deceit, frowning at what he saw. On the bright side, Deceit wasn't hideously deformed, and he certainly didn't need to be rushed to the Hospital Wing.  
  
But the potion  _clearly_  had not worked the way Logan intended.  
  
 _"Oh, it's fine, don't explain what's happening to the person who took the potion in the first place. I love being left out,"_  Deceit commented.  _"While you're at it you might as well take a picture. It'll last longer."_  
  
 _"It would appear that the potion was a partial success,"_  Logan noted.  
  
 _"Partial success. That'll go over well in Potions, I'm certain,"_  Deceit rolled his eyes.  
  
 _"Ugh, you are worse than Roman sometimes,"_  Logan huffed.  
  
Deceit let out a gasp, holding his hand to his chest as though Logan just insulted their mother.  
  
 _...yeah, that reaction isn't helping matters,_  Virgil thought with a chuckle.  
  
 _"Virgil, you must tell me what you find so hilarious! You know how I feel about being left out of these things!"_  Deceit gasped.  
  
 _"If you must know, the de-aging portion of the potion seems to have functioned adequately,"_ Logan stated.  _"The Polyjuice Potion, on the other hand..."_  
  
 _"Tell me Healer, will I live?"_  Deceit rested the back of his hand on his forehead and let out an exaggerated sigh.  
  
Logan closed his eyes and inhaled sharply before exhaling slowly.  _"You will live. You merely appear to have retained some of your usual features while also adopting some of Professor Picani's."_  
  
To Virgil, it looked as though the transformation stalled in the middle of Deceit's transformation. He'd indeed adopted  _some_  of Professor Picani's features, but he could clearly recognize his brother. The scales on the left side of Deceit's face were still present, though markedly less plentiful. The majority were around his eye, instead of encompassing the majority of the left side of his face.

Logan let out a sigh.  _"It appears that I will have to adjust my formula."_  
  
 _"Oh, no, you don't have to do that,"_  Deceit told him.  
  
Logan furrowed his brow in confusion.  
  
 _"This will go over so well in Potions!"_  Deceit taunted.  
  
Logan let out an exasperated sigh.  _"I should have the new potion ready in a few days. You are free to leave."_  
  
 _"Like this?"_  Deceit said with a Twitter.   
  
 _"Of course not like that,"_  Logan said with another roll of his eyes.  
  
 _"You aren't going to fix me? You'd think the one responsible for this would-"_  
  
 _"You know perfectly well that you do not need my assistance to 'fix yourself' in this instance,"_ Logan scoffed.  _"But if you insist, and it will get you to leave..."_  He pointed his wand at Deceit.  _"Revelio."_  
  
Deceit's normal form was revealed once more.

Deceit reached into his bag, pulling out two familiar vials. Virgil knew that one contained the Polyjuice Potion and one contained the de-aging potion. Deceit took them each one at a time, donning his "Adam" guise once more.  
  
 _"Well, I best be on my way. Best of luck Logan, but try not to worry too much - Its not like I'm depending on you or anything."_  Deceit said with a wink before turning and opening the door, slipping out of the room.  
  
Virgil went over and shut the door. He turned around just in time to see Logan slam his hand down on the table. Virgil jumped in surprise.  
  
 _"Apologies,"_  Logan said at once.  _"I just...I thought I had everything measured precisely, it should have worked properly-"_  
  
Virgil slipped Logan a note that said.  _You'll get this._  
  
Logan let out a reluctant chuckle.  _"Deceit did not seem pleased."_  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes.  _Deceit can be an ass sometimes. You know this._  
  
Logan let out a sigh.  _"I do. But for a man so adept at lies, he does have a knack for exposing the truth."_  
  
"Hmmm?" Virgil wondered.  
  
 _"His cover is dependent upon my ability to brew this potion properly. If I make a mistake, I will not only be letting him down but letting the rest of you down as well. Roman is not incorrect in what he said about us aiding and abetting Deceit. We would be in severe trouble as well,"_  Logan sighed.  
  
 _Look, you didn't even screw up that badly. It's not like he grew extra arms or anything,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"But it was not up to the standards it should have been,"_  Logan shook his head.  
  
 _It still worked, and like you said, you probably just need to adjust the formula some,_  Virgil replied.   
  
Logan frowned and briefly perused his notes.  _"I suspect that I may need to adjust the ratios and place more Polyjuice Potion into the mixture. De-aging potion may have a weakening effect on some of the ingredients in the Polyjuice Potion, meaning that I may need to add more Polyjuice Potion to counteract this reaction..."_  
  
Virgil could not help but let out a chuckle. At least Logan was quick to get his head back into the game.


	17. Chapter 17

Virgil was grateful to find "Adam" alone in their dorm when he arrived back at the Slytherin Common Room. He turned and cast a silencing charm on the door before turning back to face his brother. He threw a balled up note at Deceit.  
  
 _"Your manners are impeccable, Virgil,"_  Deceit noted, then uncrumpled the note that Virgil threw at him.  
  
 _"'What was that about?' What was what about, dear brother?"_ Deceit asked.  
  
 _You were an ass to Logan,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"And that is new...how exactly?"_  Deceit arched an eyebrow.  
  
 _Even more of an ass than usual,_  Virgil continued.  
  
 _"I was simply teasing him,"_  Deceit assured him, and Virgil suspected that Deceit was actually telling the truth...or what he  _thought_  was the truth.  _"He should be used to that by now. He has given just as good as he has gotten in the past, and he kept me on my toes this time as well."_  
  
 _But he's more stressed out than usual,_  Virgil informed his brother.  
  
Deceit shrugged.  _"I fail to see how that is my fault._  
  
 _Of course it's your fault!_  Virgil let out a sigh.  _Why do you think he's stressed out?_  
  
 _"NEWTs probably?"_  Deceit commented in a nonchalant tone.  
  
 _This potion. He realizes how important it is to you, so he's been working overtime on it,_  Virgil explained.  
  
Deceit frowned, eyeing the latest note.  _"Why would he do that for me? We don't even get on all that well."_  
  
 _Gee, I dunno, maybe because you're his boyfriend's brother? Because you're one of us now? Point is, you should try showing a little gratitude,_  Virgil wrote next.  
  
 _"Gratitude?"_  Deceit blinked.  
  
 _Yes. You know, thank you? The sort of stuff mum taught us when we were four?"_  
  
 _"Yes yes I know what gratitude is,"_  Deceit rolled his eyes.  _"I'll try to aim for more please and thank yous. Happy now?"_    
  
 _Its a start,_  Virgil scribbled out in reply. He could only hope that Deceit would actually try to keep his word in this instance.

There was of course more to Logan's reaction than just stress, Virgil suspected. Logan held himself to high standards, and the thought that he'd performed inadequately was undoubtedly bothering him. Deceit  _might_  have only been teasing him, but he happened to hit on the exact points that Logan was already insecure about.  
  
 _"Hopefully he's able to fix the potion in time,"_  Deceit frowned.  
  
 _He should be. He was already working on a fix earlier,_  Virgil confided.  
  
 _"Oh? What does he suspect went wrong?"_  Deceit wondered.  
  
 _Something about the ratio between the de-aging potion and the Polyjuice Potion. He thinks it needs more Polyjuice Potion,_  Virgil noted.  
  
 _"Nah, it's probably fine the way it is. Our Potions class will love witnessing whoever ingests my potion starting to grow scales,"_ Deceit remarked in a sarcastic tone.  
  
Virgil let out a snort at that.  _Least we know where it went wrong?_  
  
 _"I suppose,"_  Deceit said with a shrug.  _"I just..."_  he faltered.  
  
 _Hope it's ready in time?_  Virgil wrote.  
  
Deceit nodded.  
  
He could hardly blame Deceit. If this went wrong, Deceit could kiss his last chance at Hogwarts goodbye. And that was if he didn't wind up back in  _Azkaban_  for a long time. He'd only been sentenced to two years before, but Virgil suspected that actively escaping Azkaban would net Deceit more time.  
  
Virgil headed back to the door of the dorm, pulling it open. He didn't expect to find someone waiting on the other side.  
  
He  _definitely_  didn't expect said person to be  _Toby_.  
  
 _"So Professor Picani gave me this note to give to you two,"_  Toby announced before striding away.  
  
Virgil took the note into his hand, eyeing it in curiosity. Glancing at Deceit, Virgil saw that his brother looked just as puzzled as he felt.   
  
 _"For both of us?"_  Deceit arched an eyebrow at that.  _"What is it?"_  
  
Virgil opened the note, holding it out slightly so that Deceit would be able to read it as well.  
  
 _Come to my office immediately. It is an urgent family matter._  
  
 _"An urgent family matter?"_  Deceit blinked.  
  
For a split second, Virgil wondered why Professor Picani would risk blowing Deceit's cover like this, then recalled that Deceit was posing as Professor Picani's  _nephew_ ; Deceit could still join him to discuss a  _family matter_  after all.  
  
Virgil shrugged in response to Deceit's question. It wasn't like he could say much else without retrieving his pad and paper from his pocket, and his hands were still a tad occupied by the note that caused all of this in the first place.  
  
 _"Suppose we don't have much of a choice, do we?"_  Deceit let out a sigh and made for the exit of the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
They  _did_  have a choice, of course, but neither of them wanted to take that option. Both were curious as to why Professor Picani would send them a letter like this.   
  
And, at least in Virgil's case, he began to grow worried.

An urgent family matter? It didn't say  _emergency_ , so Virgil tried to keep the worst case scenarios at bay. Was his mother hurt? Had something happened to Uncle Rembrandt, Aunt Helena, or Remy?   
  
Virgil quickened his pace. If something was wrong, he needed to know  _as soon as possible_.  
  
 _"Sheesh, Virgil, it's not a race,"_  Deceit admonished from behind him.  
  
Virgil ignored him. Once he reached Professor Picani's door, he immediately knocked at the door.  
  
Professor Picani opened the door and motioned for them to step inside.  
  
Virgil immediately retrieved his pen and paper, starting to jot down all of his questions as Professor Picani closed the door behind them.  
  
 _Is everything okay? Did something happen to-_  
  
Virgil stopped writing at once when he heard someone clear their throat. Someone who most certainly  _wasn't_  Picani, unless his voice grew much higher.  
  
 _"Virgil! Lionel!"_  Renilda called out in greeting.  
  
Virgil nearly dropped his pen and paper in surprise.


	18. Chapter 18

Virgil stared at his mother, trying to make sense of what was happening.  
  
 _"Mum?"_  Deceit blurted out, looking similarly caught off guard by their mother's appearance.  
  
Renilda was  _smiling_ , which made Virgil even more confused. He was relieved that she was alright, but why was she smiling if this was an urgent family matter?  
  
 _"You're probably wondering why we called you here,"_  Professor Picani admitted.   
  
 _"Nope, not in the least bit curious,"_  Deceit responded sarcastically.  
  
Were it not for the curse, Virgil might have made a similar comment himself. Professor Picani and Renilda were  _both_ smiling. Was this some sort of joke?   
  
Renilda's smile faltered a little when she spotted the looks her sons sent her way.  
  
 _"Boys?"_  she frowned.  
  
 _"I take it no one's hurt, then,"_  Deceit replied.  
  
Renilda's eyes went wide.  _"Merlin, no! Why would you think that?"_  
  
 _"You...I...what is the urgent family matter then?"_  Deceit spluttered.  
  
 _"Oh!"_  Renilda gasped.  _"You thought...oh dear, no, it's not anything bad. At least I don't think? I suppose it depends on how you two feel about it, but..."_  she sent a glance in Professor Picani's direction, the corners of her mouth twitching upward.  
  
Virgil watched on. Though he was relieved that no one was hurt, he remained utterly confused. He shot a quick glance at Deceit, who shrugged back at him. Virgil took solace in the fact that he wasn't the  _only_  one completely lost.  
  
Professor Picani returned Renilda's smile. Renilda returned her attentions to her two sons.  _"The two of you are going to be older brothers! Well, again in Lionel's case, but..."_  
  
"What?!" Virgil blurted out, unable to stop himself.  
  
 _"That...I..."_  Deceit stared from Renilda to Professor Picani, then back again.  _"You..."_  
  
Renilda eyed them both nervously, and Virgil slowly realized  _why_. She was afraid they were upset at the news, news that  _clearly_  pleased her.  
  
How  _did_  Virgil feel about the news? Shock was doubtlessly the first emotion, but now that he had a moment to  _think_ , more emotions wrestled their way to the forefront.

He was still a touch annoyed at Renilda and Professor Picani, but also recognized that the two did not  _intentionally_  mislead Virgil and Deceit. Renilda and Professor Picani never mentioned whether they had good news or bad news, only that they had an urgent family matter to discuss. And, to be fair, Renilda's announcement that she was  _pregnant_  certainly fell into that category.  
  
 _"How far are you along?"_  Deceit wondered.  
  
Renilda shrugged.  _"A few months at most, I believe. The baby should be here by the end of your school year, but I don't know the due date just yet."_  
  
 _"Due dates are rarely ever accurate anyway,"_  Professor Picani said with a chuckle.  
  
 _"How would you know? This is your first child, isn't it?"_  Deceit countered.  
  
 _"I have nieces and nephews...actual nieces and nephews, not just people posing as them,"_  Professor Picani noted, unable to keep from grinning.  _"How do you think I know so much about cartoons?"_  
  
 _"Oh, I just thought that was what you did in your spare time!"_ Renilda teased.  
  
 _"...well, that's not entirely incorrect,"_  Professor Picani admitted.  
  
Watching the discussion between Renilda and Professor Picani, the realization that Professor Picani would be the child's father started to sink in.  _Guess he really is joining the family, huh?_  he thought to himself.  
  
Deceit, on the other hand, watched the exchange with an impassive expression. It was hard for Virgil to tell  _what_  his brother was thinking.  
  
 _"Does this mean you're getting married soon?"_  Deceit blurted out.  
  
Renilda and Professor Picani exchanged glances.  _"I would certainly say it's in the cards..."_  Renilda began.  
  
 _"But I think we'll wait until after the baby comes. We already have enough on our plates with that, we don't need to add wedding planning to the mix,"_  Professor Picani chuckled.  
  
 _"That's a relief,"_  Deceit muttered under his breath. Fortunately, Professor Picani and Renilda did not overhear, though Virgil did.  _"Well, congrats to you both. Keep us updated, will you?"_  
  
 _"Of course! You'll be the first to find out whether it's a girl or boy, the due date, and all that jazz!"_  Renilda assured them.  
  
 _"Good, good. Now, if you'll excuse me, Virgil and I have homework to work on,"_  Deceit made for the door. Virgil smiled at his mother and nodded to Professor Picani, then followed his brother out the door. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Virgil pulled out his pen and paper and began to write.  
  
 _Why'd you tell them we had homework? Our homework's done,_ Virgil jotted down.  
  
 _"Yes, and I'm known for being a beacon of truth,"_  Deceit said with a roll of his eyes.  
  
 _Why'd you lie?_  Virgil frowned. Deceit was right - he lied a  _lot_  - Virgil just couldn't see why Deceit took it this far.  
  
 _"Because I have homework to work on,"_  Deceit persisted.  _"You're free to turn around and rejoin them if you want."_  he gestured back toward the door.  
  
Virgil folded his arms across his chest. He  _knew_  Deceit didn't have homework. So why was he continuing with this? What's more, Deceit usually had  _fun_  with his word games, the way he did with Logan while he was testing out the potion. Deceit wasn't smiling now. In fact, Deceit looked  _troubled_. He wasn't lying for the fun of it, he was lying as an  _escape_.  
  
 _What's eating you?_  Virgil wrote.  
  
Deceit peered down at his legs, then looked at his arms.  _"Nothing at the moment,"_  Deceit retorted.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes.  _You know full well what I mean._  
  
 _"Haven't the faintest clue, sorry,"_  Deceit's smirk was back, but even this did not quite reach his eyes.  
  
Virgil let out a sigh. Deceit eyed him.  _"Fine. I don't know how I'm supposed to react to this. Happy?"_  
  
Virgil blinked in both surprise and confusion.  
  
 _"I was always so close to mother growing up, you know,"_  Deceit continued dryly.  _"I was hoping that would continue. But no worries! It'll be so easy to get close to mother with Professor Picani and the baby around_  constantly _, right?"_  
  
...oh.


	19. Chapter 19

Virgil and Patton were in Care of Magical Creatures class when Virgil told Patton the news.  
  
Patton let out a squeal so loud that several classmates glanced in their direction, and Virgil found himself slouching slightly at the unwanted attention.  
  
Fortunately, most of their classmates either returned to their own conversations or focused back on the creature they were learning about in class today - The Runespoor. As with many of their classes, the professor brought in a live creature for them to observe. The Runespoor, from what Virgil could tell, was a three-headed snake that was several feet long in length.  
  
 _"It's too bad your brother didn't take this class, he would have loved Runespoors!"_  Patton lamented.  
  
Virgil surreptitiously elbowed Patton in the side.   
  
 _"What?"_  Patton frowned, thankfully in a quieter tone than before.  
  
 _Deceit is in Azkaban, remember?_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"Oh...well yeah, but I mean back when he was actually at Hogwarts!"_  Patton amended.  
  
Thankfully, no one around them seemed suspicious, and Patton was adequately able to cover for his slip-up.  
  
 _"I can't believe you're going to be a big brother!"_  Patton beamed.   
  
 _Me neither,_  Virgil admitted.

 _"Are you excited?"_  Patton pressed on.   
  
Virgil shrugged, and Patton's face fell.  _"You're not excited about a new baby brother or sister?"_  
  
 _I am,_  Virgil hastily wrote, then added  _but I'm also freaked out?_  
  
 _"Freaked out?"_  Patton read out loud.  _"Why?"_  
  
 _It's a big change. When have you known me to do well with change?_  Virgil countered.  
  
 _"Yeah, but it's an amazing change! Trust me, you're gonna love being a big brother,"_  Patton assured him.  
  
 _You would know,_  Virgil wrote with a half grin.  
  
Patton snickered.  _"That I would. Five times over, in fact!"_  
  
 _Got any advice?_  Virgil wondered.  
  
Patton's face fell slightly at that, and Virgil wondered if he said something wrong.   
  
 _"Well, its kinda hard to say,"_  Patton admitted.  _"I was five when August, Seth, and Toby were born, six when Juniper was born, and eight when Mabel was born."_  
  
 _So you were a lot younger,_  Virgil jotted out, frowning as he did so.   
  
 _"Yeah, so things are a bit different, but I could still probably give you a few pointers!"_  Patton smiled.   
  
 _I'd appreciate that,_  Virgil confessed.  
  
 _"Figured you'd say that!_  Patton replied.  _First things first - be extra careful when you're holding a baby!_  
  
Virgil's stomach lurched.  _Patton, I don't plan on dropping the baby._  Was there a possibility that he might? Was it really so common that Patton felt the need to  _warn_  him?  
  
Patton apparently saw that Virgil was growing uneasy, as he hastily continued.  _"Of course not! But that's not what I meant! Babies are super fragile. They're still developing strength in their necks. So you gotta be extra careful and support their neck at all times!"_  
  
Virgil nodded, showing Patton that he understood this instruction.

Maybe he shouldn't hold the baby until its neck was strong enough then. He'd never held a baby before. What if he held it wrong and hurt the baby?   
  
 _"Do you think you might feed the baby?"_  Patton asked.  
  
Virgil shrugged helplessly. He had  _no idea_  what he would be expected to do.  
  
 _"Well if you do, you'll have to burp the baby afterward. That isn't too hard, you just keep patting it on the back until it burps. It's best to do it with a cloth just in case the baby spits up while you're doing it!"_  Patton informed him.  _"Also, I dunno if you'll be changing diapers, but I can show you how to do that if you want too!"_  
  
Virgil felt dizzy. There was so much to remember! What if he forgot to do something? Would it hurt the baby if he forgot to burp it?   
  
How did parents even  _do_  all of this?  
  
 _"You okay Virge?"_  Patton asked, his smile faltering slightly. Uh oh, was it that obvious that Virgil was freaking out?

"Mmhmm," Virgil responded.  
  
 _"Good! I can show you how to change a diaper another time, since we don't really have the supplies at the moment,"_  Patton decided.  
  
"Or the baby," Virgil added.  
  
 _"What was that?"_  Patton frowned.  
  
"Or the..." Oh,  _duh_.  _Or the baby,_  he wrote, then turned to show Patton.  
  
Patton snickered.  _"Or the baby. But its probably best to practice before the baby, so you can try it on a doll or something."_  
  
Virgil nodded, trying to breathe as evenly as he possibly could despite the fact that he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He'd been somewhat excited about having a younger sibling, and he still  _was_...but for all that Patton was trying to help, he was also unintentionally introducing Virgil to all sorts of terrifying possibilities of what could go  _wrong_.  
  
 _"Look, it's our turn to see the Runespoor next!"_  Patton pointed out.  
  
Virgil was grateful for the distraction.   
  
\------------------  
  
The distraction helped, but Virgil was still on edge by the time he reached his dorm room.  
  
 _"Rough day?"_  Deceit asked, not even looking up from his book.  
  
Virgil collapsed backward onto his bed, his legs hanging off the side.  
  
 _"I'll take that as a yes,"_  Deceit noted.  
  
Virgil turned to look at Deceit, who was eyeing him at this point. He sat up slightly, slipping his hand into his pocket and jotting Deceit a quick note that he then proceeded to toss Deceit's way.  
  
The note missed Deceit entirely, causing Deceit to arch an eyebrow.  _"Lovely aim, Virgil."_  He nevertheless reached for the note, then read it out loud.  _"'Being an older brother sounds like hard work.' Ah yes, and so it begins. I could give you advice, of course, as your own big brother-"_  
  
Virgil let out a snort.  
  
 _"How rude, I did nothing to deserve such treatment,"_  Deceit declared, but a closer look at Deceit showed Virgil that Deceit actually had a sheepish expression on his face.  
  
No, Deceit hadn't been the best older brother, but it said something that he  _realized_  this.   
  
 _"Guess we get to learn together,"_  Virgil wrote, showing the note to Deceit with a half-smile.  
  
Deceit returned the gesture.  _"I suppose."_  
  
Suddenly a loud knock came from the door to their dorm. Virgil and Deceit exchanged glances, and Virgil rose to his feet to pull open the door.


	20. Chapter 20

Virgil expected one of their dorm mates. He didn't expect  _Toby_.   
  
 _"There's been a fight!"_  Toby blurted out at once.  
  
Virgil frowned, glancing behind Toby. He didn't see any commotion, but that didn't mean that something wasn't happening in the Common Room proper.   
  
 _"Not in the Slytherin Common Room,"_  Toby clarified.  
  
 _"So why are you telling us?"_  Deceit wondered.  
  
Toby blinked in surprise, then quickly regained his composure.  _"I need to get to the Hufflepuff Common Room."_  
  
Virgil glanced over at Deceit, who looked just as confused as he felt.   
  
Toby took in a deep breath.  _"I need someone to escort me to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Please?"_  His voice shook as he spoke.  
  
Virgil didn't like the sound of that. Why would Toby need someone to escort him to the Hufflepuff Common Room? He glanced at the clock to see if it was past curfew, but that wouldn't matter - Neither Virgil nor Deceit were prefects.  
  
 _"Why do you need an escort?"_  Deceit questioned.  
  
 _"I..."_  Toby took a quick glance behind him, to make sure there were no others lingering nearby.  _"I don't want them to come after me next."_  
  
 _"Don't want who to come after you?"_    
  
 _"...I lied, okay? I'm pretty sure what happened wasn't a fight. They're calling it a fight but it sounds like a group of Purists ganged up on a couple of Muggleborns who were late coming back to their dorm,"_  Toby admitted in a voice scarcely above a whisper.  _"I don't know who was involved, but...I need to see for myself."_  
  
Virgil and Deceit exchanged glances. Virgil understood at once. If the incident happened near the Hufflepuff dorms, there was a possibility that either or both of his brothers may have been targeted. Toby wanted to make sure that his brother were alright.   
  
Hell, Virgil wanted to make sure that  _Patton_  was alright. Virgil turned back to Toby and nodded.  
  
 _"Thanks,"_  Toby sighed in relief.   
  
Virgil and Toby made their way into the Slytherin Common Room, then slipped through the crowd and exited to the hall. As Virgil was exiting the Common Room, he heard someone clear their throat behind him, and he nearly froze. Was someone following them?  
  
 _"Did you forget someone?"_  Deceit said in his characteristic drawl.  
  
Virgil whirled around at the sound of his brother's voice, his eyes wide.   
  
Deceit let out a snicker at this display.  _"No need to look so surprised, Virgil. You were not the only one invited to accompany Toby."_  
  
Virgil, Toby, and Deceit proceeded down the hall. At least they were headed in the direction of the  _Hufflepuff_  Common Room and wouldn't have to climb up several flights of moving staircases to reach their destination.  
  
Though Virgil was best friends with a Hufflepuff, he didn't travel in the direction of the Hufflepuff Common Room very often.   
  
As it turned out, they wouldn't even reach the Hufflepuff Common Room.  
  
 _"If you're headed to the Common Room to check on August and Seth, you're heading in the wrong direction. Seth's still at Quidditch practice. August..."_  Patton furrowed his brow at once. An ill-feeling began to grow in Virgil's gut. Had something happened to August? Was he hurt?

 _"Is August okay?"_  Toby asked in a quiet voice.  
  
 _"That would depend on your definition of 'okay',"_  Patton frowned.  
  
 _"Is he hurt?"_  Toby pressed on.  
  
 _"No, but his friend is. They'll be alright, a night in the Hospital Wing and they should be right as rain, but..."_  Patton didn't look upset or worried, upon closer observation. He looked  _angry_.  
  
 _"Go on,"_  Deceit urged him.  
  
Patton blinked in surprise at  _Deceit_  of all people telling him this, but obliged nonetheless.  _"They're discussing punishments right now."_  
  
 _"For the kids who did this to August and his friend?"_  Toby asked in a hopeful tone.  
  
Patton shook his head.  _"For everyone in involved in the 'fight'."_  
  
 _"But August didn't even do anything! Did he?"_  Toby frowned.  
  
 _"He hexed one of the boys who cursed his friend,"_  Patton admitted.  
  
 _"Out of self defense! They could have easily cursed him too!"_ Toby protested.  
  
 _"Doesn't sound like the administrators see it that way,"_  Patton noted in a cold tone.   
  
 _"But..."_  Toby sighed.  _"That's not right!"_  
  
 _"Unfortunately, what's right isn't always what matters,"_  Patton murmured quietly.  
  
 _"What?"_  Toby stared.  
  
Patton frowned as he took a closer look at Toby over his glasses.  _"Don't worry about it, kiddo."_  
  
 _"Of course I'm going to worry about it! It isn't right! Something needs to be done!"_  Toby's hands were clenched into fists.  
  
 _"I'm sure they'll work things out in time,"_ Patton assured him.  
  
Toby eyed Patton with a skeptical expression.  _"What if they don't?"_  
  
Patton took in a deep breath.  _"We don't know what's going to happen yet. We'll get to that when and if it happens."_  
  
Virgil had a feeling that Patton was telling  _himself_  that as much as he was telling Toby.

Toby still looked as though he wanted to argue with Patton, but Virgil had a feeling that Toby sensed the same thing that he did - That Patton did not want to continue the conversation because the subject matter concerned him far more than he wanted to let on, and he was trying to play the role of strong older brother for Toby.  
  
 _"Can we at least go see August's friend in the Hospital Wing?"_ Toby asked.  
  
Patton blinked in surprise.  _"I suppose we could do that, but I thought you and August hung out with different friend groups?"_  
  
Toby shrugged.  _"I want to talk to him about what happened."_  
  
 _"I can take you to the Hospital Wing. I know where he is. Virgil, D-Adam, do you want to come with us?"_  Patton turned to the two older Slytherins.  
  
Virgil shook his hear, relieved to see that Deceit was doing the same.  _"We have homework we should work on,"_  Deceit informed them.   
  
Virgil and Deceit waved to Toby and Patton, then started to leave.  
  
 _"Wait!"_  Toby called out.  
  
Virgil and Deceit both turned in surprise.   
  
 _"Thanks for coming with me. It means a lot,"_  he told them with a smile.


	21. Chapter 21

News of the 'fight' that occurred outside of the Hufflepuff Common Room spread fast.  
  
All parties involved, including August and his friend in the Hospital Wing, received detention.  
  
 _"They were being bullied!"_  Roman looked as though he wanted to march down to the Headmistress' office and give her a piece of his mind right then and there.  
  
 _"I know that and you know that, but they can just maintain that there isn't enough proof to say one way or the other,"_  Era sighed.  
  
 _"Once Toby found out who the kids were, he knew it was bullying. He said the kids make nasty comments about Mudbloods all the time,"_  Patton glowered.  
  
 _"So that's proof!"_  Roman proclaimed.  
  
 _"Not in the eyes of the staff,"_  Chelsea noted.  
  
 _"So they're just going to let Purist bullying continue to happen?"_ Roman's hands were balled up into fists.  
  
 _"Not like they did much about bullying even before it went this far,"_  Astrit said with a roll of his eyes.  
  
 _"You know this is all because of what's happening in Hogsmeade, right? These kids feel emboldened now that they see adults behaving in the same way,"_  Era sighed.  
  
 _"What do we do about it?"_  Astrit frowned.  
  
 _"I'm not sure if there's much that we can do about it,"_  Patton admitted.  
  
 _"Of course there is! There has to be!"_  Roman declared.  
  
 _"It can be exponentially more difficult to stand up for what is right when the powers that be either aid and abet what is wrong at best and actively support it at worst,"_  Logam observed.  
  
 _"...are you saying that some of the staff at Hogwarts are Purists?!"_  Roman looked utterly aghast.  
  
 _"Duh,"_  Deceit chimed in for the first time since their conversation began.  
  
 _"What do you mean 'duh'?"_  Roman gaped.  
  
 _"I mean what I said. Yes, for once,"_  Deceit remarked, cutting off Roman before he could undoubtedly make a remark about Deceit's penchant for unreliable speech.

 _"Purists on the staff at Hogwarts?"_  Chelsea gasped.  
  
 _"As reluctant as I am to admit it, Deceit is correct. It stands to reason that there would be Purists on the Hogwarts staff, just as there are Purists scattered in every other walk of life within the wizarding world,"_  Logan surmised.  
  
 _"So what do we do about it?"_  Astrit inquired.  
  
 _"We protest,"_  Chelsea announced.  
  
 _"I like the way you think!"_  Roman grinned.  _"I'm sure we can find cardboard if you want to make signs-"_  
  
 _"Not that kind of protest,"_  Chelsea shook her head.  _"We'll get in trouble that way."_  
  
 _"...since when do you worry about getting into trouble for speaking your mind?"_  Era teased.  
  
 _"Oh, I'm not worried about getting into trouble. I'm worried about being silenced before we get the word out,"_  Chelsea explained.  
  
 _Before you can get the word out?_  Virgil wondered.  
  
 _"Do you want to tell them or should I, Logan?"_  Chelsea turned to Logan.  
  
Virgil turned to Logan in surprise.  _Logan_  knew what Chelsea was talking about?  
  
Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.  _"Chelsea and I have been working on a couple of pet projects. We have pamphlets to put up in Hogsmeade to urge residents to vote no on the ban. We are still in the designing phase for those-"_  
  
 _"Ooh, can I help design them? I've been told I have a good eye for that sort of thing!"_  Roman announced.  
  
 _"Sure, we could use someone with an eye for design,"_  Chelsea grinned.  
  
 _"We are also putting together a special newspaper,"_  Logan continued.  
  
 _"Don't you two already work on the Hogwarts Herald together?"_ Astrit pointed out.  
  
 _"We do,"_  Chelsea admitted.  _"But this won't be a copy of the Hogwarts Herald. This is bigger than Hogwarts. I hope for this paper to reach Hogsmeade."_  
  
 _"That's a tall order for a newspaper made by a small group of Hogwarts students,"_  Deceit observed.

 _"It is,"_  Chelsea conceded.  _"But I can't just sit by and do nothing. I have to act."_  
  
Deceit shrugged as if to say 'fair enough'.  
  
 _"Is there anything else we can do to help?"_  Patton wondered.  
  
 _"At the moment I think Logan and I pretty much have it under control, other than the designing that Roman we'll be doing,"_ Chelsea replied.  
  
 _"You can help me, Patton!"_  Roman called out, beaming at his boyfriend. Patton smiled back.

Virgil chewed on his lips, trying to decide if he  _really_  wanted to say what was on his mind. There wasn't much that he could do to stand up against the Purists. He could barely even  _speak_.   
  
...but he did still have one weapon aside from his wand. He'd utilized it against this sort of ideology before, with the help of Chelsea, when Chelsea submitted an article to the Daily Prophet alerting the wizarding world to the activities of a powerful underground Purist group from an inside perspective.   
  
Now that rhetoric was growing, and Virgil felt it was time to step up once more.  
  
 _I can write an article,_  Virgil wrote, slipping the sheet to Chelsea.   
  
Chelsea took a quick glance at it before looking up at Virgil and smiling.  _"The more the merrier. It'll be good having you aboard again."_  
  
Deceit cleared his throat. Virgil and Chelsea glanced his way.  _"Don't look at me. It's not like I have any ideas on how we might get people to read this rag."_  The corners of his mouth twitched upward.

 _"Good, it'll be nice to have you on board as well,"_  Chelsea smirked, barely missing a beat as she easily saw through Deceit's shield of sarcasm.  
  
From there, the group quickly disbanded from their usual abandoned classroom on the fourth floor, but with renewed vigor. They were still upset about what happened with August and his friend, but now they were going to  _do_  something about it. Virgil was already mulling over ideas for an article in his head as he and Deceit headed back to the Slytherin Common Room.


	22. Chapter 22

Virgil entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom alongside Logan, taking a seat next to Era and Chelsea, who were already present.  
  
 _"How's your project coming along?"_  Chelsea asked him as soon as he set his things down.  
  
Virgil knew that Chelsea was referring to the article for her paper, but did not want to refer to it as an article lest people get nosy. 'Project' was an easy cover. It could be a project for any class, and bringing up a class project didn't garner too much unwanted attention.  
  
 _Not bad. I have a few ideas for it,_  Virgil wrote, passing the note to Era, who passed it to her girlfriend.  
  
Chelsea read the note, then grinned.  _"Good, glad to hear you're making progress."_  
  
 _"You didn't hear that he was making progress,"_  Era noted.  _"You saw it, because you read it."_  
  
Era had a mischievous grin on her face. Chelsea let out a purposefully exaggerated sigh, blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face.  _"Why do I even try?"_  
  
Era snickered, and soon Chelsea joined her.  
  
 _"I've heard class is going to be a real treat today,"_  a voice announced from beside Logan. Deceit slipped into the seat next to the Ravenclaw.  
  
 _"Is that actually the case, or is it merely conjecture on your part?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
 _"Nevermind 'conjecture', I want to know if he actually thinks it's going to be a treat or if he's being sarcastic,"_  Era arched an eyebrow.  
  
Deceit merely shrugged and smiled.  
  
 _"You're getting a kick out of this aren't you, you turd?"_  Chelsea huffed.  
  
 _"Who's a turd?"_  Roman asked from behind them, sliding into a seat in the next row.  
  
 _"Your mum,"_  Chelsea retorted.  
  
Roman let out a snort.  _"Tell me something that I don't know. 'Turd' is far too kind for her, to be honest. It is an insult to turds to be compared to her or my father."_  
  
 _"Jeez Roman, tell us how you really feel,"_  Deceit chuckled.   
  
Their conversation died down as more and more students joined them in the classroom. Professor Goodwin came in a short time later, a huge smile on her face.  _"Afternoon, class! Today we will be practicing Patronus Charms! If you have already cast them in your 6th year, I expect you to try to cast them nonverbally! If not, this will be your opportunity to attempt to successfully cast one! If you have already succeeded at both verbal and nonverbal Patronus Charms, you can either try to aid your classmates or you can practice another spell for the day. Best of luck to all of you!"_    
  
There was a flurry of activity as students began to reach for their wands and begin to practice.

Virgil blinked, realizing that he was in a peculiar situation. Two years before, when Virgil and his friends first learned the Patronus Charm, Virgil was the last of his friends to succeed at the charm, and required tutoring from Logan.  
  
Now? Virgil was  _ahead_  of everyone else. He didn't need to learn how to successfully cast a nonverbal Patronus because it was the  _only_  way he could cast a Patronus, and he taught himself how to do that months before. He also kept up on his practice.  
  
While Virgil observed the others in the room and their attempts at the spell, Professor Goodwin approached Virgil.  _"Why aren't you practicing?"_  she asked in a stern tone.  
  
Virgil immediately sat up in his seat and quickly jotted down a response.  
  
 _I can already do a_  
  
Virgil scribbled out what he'd written and opted to lift his wand instead. He closed his eyes to try to focus on the task at hand, and the memory that he would use. He decided to use the moment that Patton asked him to be his best man. The corners of his mouth quirking upward at the thought, he cast the spell.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, a silvery cheetah stood between Virgil and Professor Goodwin.   
  
Professor Goodwin nodded.  _"Very good, Virgil. Take two points for Slytherin."_  
  
Professor Goodwin went to continue her survey of the class, but stopped mere feet from Virgil.  
  
 _"Adam Aceti, why are you not practicing?"_  Professor Goodwin folded her arms across her chest.  
  
 _"I already cast the spell at my old school,"_  Deceit lied easily.  
  
Professor Goodwin did not look convinced.  _"Really? Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind showing me."_  
  
Deceit reached for his wand. Virgil noted that he was moving slowly and deliberately, as if trying to stall for time. He glanced down at the pad of paper in front of him. He ripped out a new sheet and hastily scribbled a note for Professor Goodwin, then cleared his throat to draw her attention to him.  
  
Deceit, noting the way that Virgil was trying to get the professor's attention (and grateful for the distraction), pointed this out.  
  
 _"Mr. Thompson?"_  Professor Goodwin asked. Virgil slid his note across the desk to the professor, who took the note and read it.  
  
 _He's the one who taught me how to cast the spell nonverbally,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"He is?"_  Professor Goodwin blinked. Virgil's heart pounded. Would Professor Goodwin buy it?  
  
 _"Hey, get your rhinoceros under control! It's about to trample my rabbit!"_  someone shouted from the other side of the room.  
  
 _"My rhinoceros is fine, it's your rabbit that's running around everywhere and getting in everyone's way!"_  another voice retorted.

Professor Goodwin let out an exasperated sigh.  _"Take two points for Slytherin, Mr. Aceti,"_  she told Deceit before marching over to the other side of the room to play mediator to the two arguing students.

 _"I didn't need help, I could have handled it myself,"_  Deceit announced.  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow as if to say 'oh really?'. Deceit could at least give him credit where it was d-  
  
 _"But thank you,"_  Deceit continued.  
  
Huh. Color Virgil impressed. That didn't mean that this conversation was over, however.  
  
 _We'll talk after class,_  Virgil wrote, then slid the note over to Deceit. Virgil didn't understand why Deceit wasn't even  _trying_  to cast a Patronus. He knew it wasn't a matter of disinterest - he'd witnessed Deceit practicing the charm back at their mother's flat over the summer. So why was he so adamant on bot doing so now?


	23. Chapter 23

Now Virgil  _knew_  something was up.  
  
Deceit read the note Virgil passed him. Virgil  _watched_  Deceit read the note. Yet the moment class ended, Deceit rose to his feet and walked out of the classroom as fast as his legs could carry him. Virgil, having expected Deceit to actually  _stick around_ , hastily rose to his own feet and headed for the door, but wound up trapped behind several other people who were rushing the door.  
  
By the time Virgil made it out into the hallway, Deceit was nowhere to be seen.  
  
This was the last class of the day, which meant that Virgil wouldn't see his brother in class for the rest of the day. That meant that he had the entire  _school_  to search.  
  
Especially since Deceit seemed to be  _deliberately_  avoiding him.  
  
Deceit wasn't anywhere to be found in the Slytherin Common Room or in the 7th year dorm, nor did Virgil spot him in any of the halls. He even peeked into the abandoned classroom on the fourth floor that they used as a meeting spot, but Deceit wasn't hiding out  _there_  either.  
  
Logan invited him to study. On one hand, Virgil wanted to...but on the other, he wanted to find his brother.  
  
 _"Still trying to locate Adam?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
Virgil nodded.  
  
 _"I suspect that you'll encounter him soon enough,"_  Logan reasoned.   
  
Virgil let out a snort. Logan sounded so confident of that, but  _Logan_  wasn't the one who'd searched the castle high and low for the missing person in question. Virgil half suspected that Deceit shifted into his snake form and was hiding out somewhere in the Forbidden Forest.   
  
 _"He has to eat, does he not?"_  Logan continued.  
  
Virgil's eyes widened. Of  _course_. If nothing else, he'd see Deceit in the Great Hall at dinner time. Armed with that knowledge, Virgil felt better about joining Logan for a study session. Not only did the two study, but they also brainstormed a few ideas for Virgil's article. By the time Virgil entered the Great Hall, he felt as if he'd actually accomplished something for the day, and he was looking forward to  _finally_  catching up with Deceit and getting answers to his questions!  
  
Deceit wasn't in the Great Hall when Virgil and Logan walked in, but he wasn't entirely surprised. Deceit was probably trying to put it off as long as he possibly could, if Virgil's theories about Deceit actively avoiding him were correct.  
  
(There was, of course, the chance that Virgil was blowing the whole thing out of proportion and Deceit wasn't avoiding him  _at all_...but Virgil's mind kept falling back to how quickly Deceit fled the Defense Against the Dark Arts room after reading Virgil's note, and reasoned that Deceit was at least trying to avoid him at  _that_  point in time.)  
  
Virgil finished eating, doing a quick scan of the table. Still no sign of his brother. Was Deceit trying so hard to avoid him that he wasn't even going to eat dinner? Virgil ran a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh of frustration. He'd checked  _everywhere_. Well, everywhere aside from the Forbidden Forest. He didn't particularly want to return to the Forbidden Forest, but he'd exhausted all of his other options. Unless Deceit took Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as someone else and was in the Great Hall at that very moment...  
  
Virgil let out a gasp, pushing himself to his feet as he headed for the door of the Great Hall. There was one place that Virgil  _hadn't_  checked. Virgil suspected that Deceit would not go hungry there, even if he  _had_  skipped out on dinner at the Great Hall.  
  
He stopped outside the door to Professor Picani's office. He took a deep breath to muster up the courage to knock on the door. Professor Picani pulled it open, his eyes widening in slight surprise at the sight of Virgil.  _"Virgil! How nice of you to join us! I didn't know you'd be coming too!"_  
  
Us?   
  
Virgil stepped past Professor Picani, expecting to see Deceit. Instead, the office was empty. Professor Picani was the only one in the room. Then why had...?  
  
Aha.   
  
Virgil cleared his throat, shooting a pointed glance in the direction of the yellow snake that was creeping along the wall toward the door.  _You're not going to escape that easily._  
  
The snake shifted back into his brother. The expression on the other Slytherin's face was unreadable.  _"Surprise! You win,"_ Deceit announced in a sardonic tone.  
  
Virgil held a pre-written note in front of Deceit. Deceit took it at once, reading it out loud.  _"'What happened to talking after class?' Oh, were we supposed to do that? Must have had other things on my mind. I apologize."_  
  
Virgil folded his arms across his chest and shot Deceit a stern look. Deceit rolled his eyes.  _"It appears I've overstayed my welcome."_  
  
 _"There's no such thing as overstaying your welcome around here!"_  Professor Picani declared, but Deceit's hand was already on the door.  
  
Virgil knew he didn't have much time until Deceit slipped out of his grasp again, and so he jotted down his next message as quickly as he could.  _Why didn't you try?_  
  
Deceit bore an expression on his face akin to if Virgil had slapped him in the face. Then he did something Virgil didn't expect  _at all_  after everything else that occurred..he  _laughed_. Why was he laughing? Was this whole thing a practical joke on Deceit's part? Leading Virgil on a wild goose chase only for it to amount to this?  
  
 _"What is the point in trying if you know that you will not succeed?"_  Deceit retorted, pulling open the door and stepping out of the room just as he had earlier.  
  
This time, Virgil did not chase after him. He was too stunned with Deceit's response.  
  
His brother was so convinced that he would not succeed that he wasn't even going to put in the effort? Virgil  _knew_  what that felt like - he'd been there himself - but he did not expect it from his brother, who always seemed more confident about his abilities than that.  
  
Then again, he always had been an adept liar...


	24. Chapter 24

Virgil and Logan stood at the front of the abandoned classroom. Logan was digging through his school bag while Virgil leaned against the front wall of the classroom, his eyes trained on the door.  
  
Deceit agreed to a study session with Logan concerning the Patronus Charm under the condition that Virgil would get off his back if he did so.  
  
But now Virgil was wondering if Deceit  _ever_  intended to hold up his end of the bargain.  
  
 _"You told him 7:15, correct?"_  Logan frowned, glancing down at his watch.  
  
Virgil sighed and nodded. He would have had a sarcastic comment at the ready were it not for the curse, and he didn't feel like digging out his pad and paper just to jot one down.   
  
 _"It's 7:40, if he is not present by 7:45-"_  
  
Just then the door on the opposite side of the room opened. Deceit stepped inside, donning his Adam guide per usual.  
  
 _"Glad you could make it,"_  Logan greeted him curtly.  
  
 _"I'm happy to be here,"_  Deceit retorted.  
  
Virgil chewed on his lip, hoping that they would be able to make at least  _some_  progress today...otherwise he wasn't so sure he'd be able to convince Deceit to come to another session.  
  
Logan helped  _him_  with the Patronus Charm though, so if anyone could help Deceit with the spell...

 _"I hear that you're having difficulty with the Patronus Charm,"_ Logan stated, getting directly to the point.  
  
 _"Didn't you hear? I'm the one who taught Virgil how to cast the spell nonverbally,"_  Deceit shot back with a smirk.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes, though a hint of a grin crossed his own features.  
  
 _"Based on your performance with the charm over the summer, I find that highly unlikely,"_  Logan noted.  
  
Deceit let out a sigh.  _"Oh Logan, you know just how to make a joke so much better!"_  
  
 _"Why thank...oh, you are being sarcastic,"_  Logan frowned.  
  
Virgil cleared his throat.  
  
 _"Oh, right, the reason we are gathered here today is to see if I can be of any assistance to you, Deceit,"_  Logan declared.  
  
Deceit let out a snort.  _"Save your breath."_  
  
Logan blinked, taken aback.  _"I'm not sure that I understand."_  
  
 _"Don't even bother. You will be wasting your time,"_  Deceit told him.  
  
 _"...is this another one of your word tricks? Because I assure you that I will do everything in my power to aid..."_  Logan began, but Deceit held up a hand to stop him.  
  
 _"There is no need. Dark wizards cannot cast Patronuses,"_  Deceit stated in such a matter of fact tone that Virgil's stomach rolled.  
  
 _"Ah, that is why you are hesitant. Virgil had the same concerns,"_ Logan noted.  
  
 _"Oh, I'm sure he did,"_  Deceit said with a slight chuckle, casting a glance at Virgil. Virgil furrowed his brow as he blinked in surprise, unsure what to make of that comment. He didn't know whether it was a compliment or an insult...or just a statement that wasn't meant to be taken  _either_  of those ways.  
  
Deceit clarified that for both Virgil and Logan soon enough.  _"The difference? Virgil only worries about being a dark wizard. Of course Virgil was able to cast a Patronus, he's a good person. I, on the other hand, am not."_  
  
 _"I beg your pardon?"_  Logan gaped.  
  
 _"I am not a good person,"_  Deceit stated again, in such a certain tone that he might as well have been stating that one plus one equaled two.  
  
 _"I..."_  Logan began, but faltered.  
  
Deceit capitalized on this at once.  _"See? You cannot think of anything to say in response to that, because you know I'm right. You know that I have done terrible things. You've said it yourselves in the past, and you were not wrong."_  
  
Virgil's gut rolled with guilt. Even if he were able to talk unhindered by the curse, he wouldn't know what to say. He cast a glance toward Logan, who looked as though he were teetering on the edge of saying something, but wanted to weigh his options first.  
  
Then, Logan spoke.  _"You are under the impression that doing terrible things inhibits you from producing a Patronus, correct?"_  
  
 _"Duh,"_  Deceit retorted.  _"Everyone knows that."_  
  
Logan cleared his throat and extended his wand.  _"Expecto Patronum!"_  A raven burst forth from the end of his wand, flitting around the room.  
  
Deceit arched an eyebrow.  _"Was that supposed to prove something?"_  
  
 _"As a matter of fact, it was,"_  Logan replied.  _"If committing a terrible crime precludes one's ability to cast a Patronus charm, it should be impossible for me to cast one."_  
  
Virgil stared at Logan in surprise, his mind putting the pieces together. He started forward, reaching out to put his arm on Logan's shoulder. Logan flinched slightly at the touch, but allowed Virgil to keep his hand there. Virgil gave Logan's shoulder a squeeze.  
  
Deceit, too, seemed to have worked out where Logan was coming from.  _"You did that to save Virgil. It was an entirely different set of circumstances."_  
  
 _"Cool motive, still murder,"_  Logan retorted.  _"Tell me, Deceit, have you ever killed someone?"_  
  
Deceit shook his head.  _"Though not for lack of trying, as the two of you should recognize all too well."_  
  
Indeed Virgil did, being that he was one of the targets.  
  
 _"You have done terrible things,"_  Logan agreed.  _"So have I. So has Virgil."_  
  
Virgil winced as Logan said what he'd been thinking all along. Deceit shook his head.  _"Oh please, we're not talking about the time that father modified Virgil's memory, are we? Because I think that's an entirely different set of circumstances..."_  
  
 _Logan is, I'm not,_  Virgil wrote. Both Deceit and Logan looked back at him in confusion.  _I pushed people away. I bullied them, because it felt better taking out my insecurities on them than focusing on my own._  Yes, this was while he was in Deceit's 'gang', so to speak, but it did not excuse the actions that he willfully engaged in. He was hurting, but he'd taken out that hurt on others, and the fact that he was hurting did not excuse that in the slightest.  
  
 _"You can never take back what you have already done,"_  Logan remarked with a wistful sigh, sounding as though he wished with every fiber of his being that  _he_  could do just that.  _"What matters now is what you choose to do in the future. Those you have wronged in the past may choose to never forgive you, and that is well within their right. You may choose never to forgive yourself for what you have done, and that is within your right as well. What you can change are your actions. You already have. I've witnessed you doing so. So has Virgil."_  
  
Virgil nodded in agreement.  
  
 _"You may be correct. You may never be able to cast a patronus. But that does not detract from your ability to be a good person, and you should not let it do such"_  Logan told Deceit.  
  
 _And it definitely means you shouldn't give up on trying,_  Virgil wrote, the corner of his mouth twitching upward into a half smile.  
  
 _"Ugh, whatever, if it'll get the two of you off my case,"_  Deceit said with a roll of his eyes, retrieving his wand from his pocket.  
  
But Virgil was fairly certain that he caught his brother smiling when he thought the other two weren't looking.


	25. Chapter 25

Though Virgil, Logan, and Deceit practiced for an hour and a half, Deceit was still unable to cast a corporeal Patronus.  
  
 _"I suppose the two of you won't leave me alone until I agree to another session, so how does the same time next Tuesday sound?"_  Deceit proposed, slinging his bag over his shoulder.  
  
 _"I think we can arrange that,"_  Logan replied, pulling out a notebook and making note of the time and date.  
  
Deceit waved over his shoulder and he left the room. Virgil and Logan exchanged glances at once.   
  
They both knew that Deceit could not bring himself to verbally state that he actually wanted to continue with classes, but if he phrased it as Virgil and Logan twisting his arm to do so? That was entirely different.  
  
Virgil  _saw_  the way Deceit's eyes lit up the few times he was able to call forth a silvery mist, despite Deceit's attempts to detract attention from this.   
  
\--------------------  
  
The time came at last for the 7th year Potions class to test their Polyjuice Potions on one another. Logan and Deceit arranged a quick meeting earlier in the day to discuss Logan's progress with the potion, but Virgil was in class at the time and thus had no idea how the meeting went.  
  
Therefore, he had no idea  _what_  to expect.  
  
 _"You may partner off how you would like,"_  the professor announced.  _"If you are unable to find a partner or group of your own, I would be happy to assist you."_  
  
Virgil let out a quiet sigh of relief. He recalled that time  _all_  too well.   
  
 _"Who's partnering up with who?"_  Chelsea asked the other three.  _"Virgil and Logan, do you want to pair up again?"_  
  
Virgil nodded, but Logan hesitated, much to Virgil's surprise.  
  
 _"I think it may be for the best if Adam and I are partners,"_  Logan replied.  
  
It didn't take long for Virgil to figure out why. If anything went wrong with Logan's potion, he wanted to be the one that bore the brunt of it.  
  
It was for this reason that Virgil himself hesitated to  _accept_ Logan's decision. If Logan partnered with Deceit, Logan would be imbibing the modified potion. If anything went wrong,  _Logan_  would be the one affected.  
  
Had Logan and Deceit even tested the potion again? He was worried for  _anyone_  to try the potion, but Logan was his  _boyfriend_. He was understandably concerned, dammit!  
  
Before Virgil could call attention to his concerns, however, Logan and Chelsea switched sides, so that Logan was seated next to Deceit and Chelsea was seated next to Virgil.  
  
Chelsea pulled a strand of hair from her head. Virgil watched as Logan surreptitiously replaced the liquid from the potion he made earlier in class with his own concoction. Chelsea cleared her throat next to him, and realizing that she was ready, Virgil hastily pulled a hair from his own head. He and Chelsea exchanged hairs, dropping them into each other's potions and stirring them.   
  
Virgil chanced another glance across the table. Deceit dropped Logan's hair into his potion and stirred. Logan, on the other hand, only  _pretended_  to add Deceit's hair...Virgil supposed the concoction Logan planned to use already contained all of the ingredients that it needed, and that adding a hair would modify it unfavorably.  
  
Or everything might be about to go horribly wrong. That was an option as well.  
  
As Chelsea took a measure of her own potion into a container, Virgil did the same with his. Virgil and Chelsea exchanged glances. Chelsea held out her glass.  _"Cheers?"_  
  
Unable to respond verbally, Virgil instead tapped his container against Chelsea's. Virgil took a deep breath to steel himself, then took the potion.  
  
The sensations were just as bizarre this time around as they were previously, only aided by the fact that Virgil at least knew what to expect.  
  
Once again, he saw himself seated next to...well, himself, in Ravenclaw robes, though he noted that the robes weren't exactly the best fit this time around...  
  
 _"Probably should have borrowed my brother's robes for this. Why are you so tall?"_  Chelsea huffed, looking down at her arms. Her sleeves, which previously came down to her wrists, were now near to her  _elbow_. It didn't look as though Chelsea's speech while she was Polyjuiced as Virgil was effected by the curse, which meant that his being Polyjuiced as Chelsea would have no bearing on the curse either. Virgil let out a sigh. That was one question out of the way, though he couldn't say that he was too pleased with the answer.  
  
Virgil was practically  _swimming_  in his Slytherin robes now, as Chelsea's 5'3" frame could hardly fill up robes meant for someone who stood slightly over 6 feet tall. As soon as Chelsea saw this she started to laugh.

Virgil shot her a look, but this did little to curb the Ravenclaw's laughter. What did, though, was what was occurring across the table.  
  
Chelsea pointed to Logan and Deceit, who were currently undergoing their own transformations. Virgil watched Logan's with bated breath, hoping that nothing would go too terribly wrong. He even crossed his fingers under the table.  
  
He let out a massive sigh of relief when the transformation was finished. Deceit turned into a carbon copy of Logan, sans the glasses, and Logan now appeared as "Adam",  _with_  glasses.  
  
Everything went as planned. He started to snicker in spite of everything, because he was so  _relieved_  that everything was alright, that Deceit's identity was not revealed and that Logan made it through the transformation no worse for the wear, that he had to let loose all of that tension  _at once_.  
  
 _"What is so amusing?"_  Logan wondered, adjusting his glasses. Of course, he looked like  _Adam_  doing this, which only made Virgil laugh that much more.  
  
 _"Uh oh, I think we broke Virgil,"_  Chelsea said with a snicker of her own.  
  
Once Virgil regained his composure, he saw that Deceit and Logan were now laughing as well. Good. Logan and Deceit both deserved a chance to let loose after everything they'd been through in the past few weeks. Besides, there was no telling how long this would last...


	26. Chapter 26

Winter break came and went. Virgil had mixed feelings about the whole affair. Most of his holiday was spent at his Aunt Helena and Uncle Rembrandt's house. This time, Logan did not accompany them, spending the holiday with  _his_  parents instead.   
  
In Logan's stead, two new guests arrived at the Nyx home - Professor Picani and his nephew, Adam Aceti.  
  
"Adam Aceti" was, of course, Deceit, and having to deal with both his older brother  _and_  his cousin put Virgil into an almost perpetual state of annoyance throughout the holiday. It wasn't that he particularly  _disliked_  Deceit or Remy at this point, but they knew how to press his buttons. That said, he knew how to press their buttons in return, so he could at least give as well as he could receive.  
  
It was nice seeing Renilda, whose stomach was beginning to show.  
  
Aunt Helena and Uncle Rembrandt were pleased.  _"We never saw your mother while she was pregnant with you or your brother,"_  Aunt Helena explained.   
  
 _"Apparently he didn't want either of his sons prematurely exposed to dirty blood,"_  Uncle Rembrandt continued. The scowl on his face showcased  _exactly_  how he felt about this particular opinion of Linus'.  
  
 _"Least one of the kids turned out right,"_  Remy reasoned, clapping Virgil on the back. He turned to Adam, who was standing in the doorway with a frown. Remy interpreted this to be confusion on the newcomer's part.  _"Oops, sorry babe, just discussing some family drama. I can totally give you all the deets later if you want!"_  
  
"Adam" shook his head.  _"I'll pass,"_  he murmured quietly.  
  
There were other such incidents throughout the visit, though they were markedly less overt once Renilda placed her foot down and told them to  _stop_. She didn't tell them why, of course, merely that she disliked talking about Linus so much and would prefer to change the subject whenever it came up.  
  
And though Renilda wasn't necessarily  _lying_ , she wasn't telling the whole truth - She wanted to protect Deceit as well.  
  
 _Have you heard anything else about the baby?_  Virgil wrote to her.  
  
Renilda was far enough along in her pregnancy that she saw a Healer to discuss her pregnancy once every two to three weeks. The fact that Renilda worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's certainly made it easy to schedule such appointments, and Renilda often only had to travel to a separate wing of the hospital for her appointments.  
  
 _"It's a girl,"_  Renilda admitted with a small smile.  _"I haven't even told your Aunt Helena or Uncle Rembrandt yet. It's up to you whether or not you want to tell Adam. Emile knows as well, of course."_  
  
Virgil blinked in surprise. A girl?  
  
 _"You don't have to look so shocked,"_  Renilda laughed.  _"And no, I haven't told Remy yet either."_  
  
 _I'd keep it from his as long as you possibly can,_  Virgil advised.  _The second Remy finds out is the second the entire world finds out._  
  
 _"Hey, be nice!"_  Renilda scolded him playfully.   
  
 _What, it's true!_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
 _"I never said it wasn't true! I just said to be nice,"_  Renilda grinned mischievously.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes but smiled in return.

Virgil didn't tell Deceit, directing him to Renilda instead. He felt that this was something that Deceit needed to hear directly from their mother, not secondhand from his younger brother.  
  
Deceit thanked him afterward, and it didn't sound sarcastic, so hopefully he did  _something_  right.  
  
Soon they'd both be older brothers. He was going to have a  _sister_. What a strange thought. This, among many other thoughts, swirled within his head as he stared out the window on the train ride back to Hogwarts.  
  
 _"You're being awfully silent,"_  Roman eyed him suspiciously.  
  
 _Aren't I always?_  Virgil wrote on his pad, showing it to Roman with a smirk.  
  
 _"...touche,"_  Roman conceded.  
  
 _"You are behaving strangely, though,"_  Logan observed.  
  
 _"How? He's looking out a train window. I do that all the time,"_  Era pointed out.  
  
 _"Case in point,"_  Astrit teased. Era huffed and swatted him playfully on the arm.

 _"What's on your mind?"_  Patton asked.  
  
Virgil shrugged. The answer to that was long, and Virgil wasn't sure that he wanted to write out  _everything_. Truth be told, as happy as he was to see his friends again, he couldn't help but worry for the second part of the school year. It just felt like so many things could go  _wrong_ , and they weren't simple things with an easy fix like missing an assignment.  
  
His article helped with these feelings a  _little_ , but he was still brainstorming ideas for said article.  
  
 _"Hogwarts ho!"_  Roman shouted, jolting Virgil from that train of thought.  
  
From there, the castle grew closer and closer. Once they pulled in at the station, the group began to gather up their things.

Most of them only had small bags, if anything - the majority oftheir belongings were still in the castle, as they were only home for a couple of weeks over the holiday.  
  
Virgil peeked out into the aisles, hoping to catch a glimpse of "Adam", who disappeared halfway into their journey to Hogwarts to speak with his "uncle" and had yet to return.  
  
 _"Better hurry up Era, or we'll head up to the castle without you,"_ Chelsea teased, throwing her bag over her shoulder.   
  
There was no response from Era.  
  
 _"Era?"_  Astrit frowned, nudging his sister's arm gently. His light nudges turned into increasingly desperate shakes as Era continued not to respond.  
  
 _"I'll go get a Healer!"_  Patton announced, making his way toward the door of their compartment.  
  
 _"BEWARE THE FIRE,"_  Era shouted suddenly.  
  
Patton jumped back in surprise, very nearly knocking Virgil over in the process.  
  
 _"THE FIRE SEEKS TO DESTROY, TO RIP APART. THE TRUEST OF THREATS IS EVER PRESENT. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE, YOU CAN ONLY ACT."_  Era wavered where she sat, head slowly tilting forward as she raised her hand to her head.  
  
 _"You okay babe?"_  Chelsea was immediately there to wrap her arm around her girlfriend. Astrit patted his sister's arm.  
  
 _"What happened?"_  Era muttered, her voice sounding groggy.  
  
 _"We appear to have another prophecy on our hands,"_  Logan informed her in a grave tone.  
  
Virgil let out a shaky sigh. And to think, they weren't even in the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts yet...


	27. Chapter 27

Virgil was happy to have made it more than halfway through his seventh year. He already made it further than he had during his  _first_  attempt at his last year of Hogwarts.  
  
Though, of course, there was the matter of Era's prophecy to contend with. What a way to ring in the new term!  
  
Now that winter break was over, all of their teachers seemed to be gearing their classes toward NEWT prep (or OWL prep in Astrit's case).   
  
Meetings were scheduled with their Heads of House to discuss their options. Virgil absolutely  _dreaded_  said meetings, but sadly they were mandatory for all fifth and seventh years. Ravenclaw had their meetings first, and Chelsea and Logan were quick to share their feedback.  
  
 _"Get ready to give them your life story. They want it all,"_  Chelsea warned them.  
  
 _"That's a tad bit of an exaggeration, Chelsea,"_  Logan reasoned.   
  
 _Only a tad?_  Virgil wrote bemusedly.  _So they only want from age 5 to present?_  
  
 _"Perhaps not the best choice of words,"_  Logan admitted.  _"They did ask a lot of questions of us, though I thought the majority of their questions were reasonable. They are trying to assist us in obtaining gainful employment once we leave Hogwarts."_  
  
Virgil wasn't looking forward to this at all.  _I don't get why we have to do this. We have more important things to focus on._  
  
 _"Like the prophecy?"_  Logan frowned. Virgil nodded.  
  
 _"I plan to do some research while you are in your session with your Head of House. You will likely find me in the library afterward, if you wish to join me,"_  Logan noted.

Virgil's meeting with Professor Foley went about as well as he expected. In fact, it perhaps went a little  _better_  than he expected, as he actually had something to tell Professor Foley when the Slytherin Head of House asked if he had any plans after Hogwarts.  
  
 _"A private tutor? Why not be a professor?"_  Professor Foley pointed out.  _"Becoming a professor would allow you a more stable work environment, and the position typically offers better pay."_  
  
Virgil let out a snort and pointed to his mouth. Privately tutoring one student was one thing, but teaching an entire class? Between his anxiety and his speech, he wasn't exactly a good fit for the position.  
  
 _"Oh...right,"_  Professor Foley sorted through a few papers.  _"I assume your subject of interest is Defense Against the Dark Arts?"_  
  
Virgil nodded.  
  
 _"Well, if you do choose to become a private tutor, I don't have much to advise you on other than maintaining your Defense Against the Dark Arts grade and obtaining a high level Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWT. It will reflect well on your abilities to tutor if you obtain an Outstanding in the subject you plan to tutor students in,"_  Professor Foley noted.   
  
So...common sense. What was the point of these meetings again?  
  
 _"I do have one additional piece of advice to offer you,"_  Professor Foley informed him.  
  
"Hmmm?" Virgil responded, trying to ignore the way that his heart sped up at that comment. And here he thought it went relatively  _well_.  
  
 _"Relax, it's nothing bad,"_  Professor Foley assured him. Great, his Head of House noticed him freaking out. What else could happen?

He waited for Professor Foley to continue.  
  
 _"I would suggest that you obtain other employment while you are building up your customer base if you choose to be a private tutor,"_  Professor Foley went on.   
  
Virgil wasn't sure what to say...or, well,  _write_ , to that, so he stayed both still and silent. He had a feeling that job opportunities would be limited as a result of the curse...but he supposed it also depended upon the nature of said jobs.  
  
 _"Not only will you earn money that you could invest toward your tutoring, but if you sought a job in which you could obtain experience outside of Hogwarts in Defense Against the Dark Arts it would reflect well on your abilities, and would look good to prospective students and their parents,"_  Professor Foley reasoned.  
  
Virgil had to bite down on his lip to hold back a snort at that one. He already had  _plenty_  of experience in Defense Against the Dark Arts, though it wasn't exactly something that he could put on his resume.   
  
Professor Foley...actually had a good point, one that Virgil might actually take into consideration. He wasn't expecting this meeting to actually  _benefit_  him in any way.  
  
The curse was still an obstacle, though. Were he still able to speak, he had a feeling that job opportunities would be a  _lot_ more plentiful.  
  
Still, he left the meeting with Professor Foley with something to think about. That was  _way_  more than he expected from a meeting like this. Far more lucrative than any such meetings in the past, at any rate.  
  
Virgil made his way to the library, wondering if Logan was still there. He took a glance at his watch. Logan ought to be; he didn't think that Logan would leave the library  _that_  soon after arriving.  
  
Sure enough, Virgil found Logan poring over a book, with a few additional books stacked next to him. Virgil grabbed one from the top of the pile.   
  
Logan gave a start and glanced up in surprise, pushing his glasses up on his nose. The corners of Virgil's mouth twitched upward at this display; he clearly caught the Ravenclaw off guard.  
  
 _"How did it go?"_  Logan whispered to him.  
  
 _Not bad. Got a few things to think about,_  Virgil wrote in admission.  _Did you find anything?_  he added, nodding to the books.  
  
Logan let out a sigh, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.  _"Not much. At first I presumed that fire itself was the threat. That said, the prophecy stated that the threat was 'every present', and fire is not ever present."_  
  
 _Also something we can't escape,_  Virgil pointed out, unable to keep a shudder from passing through him. He didn't much like the thought of some unknown threat that they were unable to escape  _at all_  as foretold by a prophecy. In fact...  _Is this research going to do us any good?_  Virgil wondered.  
  
Logan blinked. Virgil realized that he might as well have been speaking a foreign language.  _Research_  was the way that Logan coped with just about everything. The suggestion that  _research_  might not help...Logan shook his head.  _"I'm certain that I will find something. I just have to keep looking,"_  Logan assured him.  
  
Virgil shrugged, taking a seat across from Logan and opening the book he'd swiped from the top of Logan's pile. He didn't think they would find anything (and suspected that Logan thought similarly, but was too afraid to admit it), but it was better than doing nothing, Virgil supposed.


	28. Chapter 28

The next Hogsmeade weekend came at the beginning of February. Once again, Roman tried to rope him into coming, but the thought of stepping foot into Hogsmeade still made Virgil severely uncomfortable.  
  
Fortunately, he wouldn't be alone. Astrit opted to stay behind again as well. Logan nearly stayed with him, but Virgil reminded him of his promise and with some urging managed to convince Logan to go.  
  
 _"Very well, but I insist upon purchasing at least one book for you while I am there,"_  Logan told him.  
  
 _"A book? The hell kind of gift is that? Why not a box of chocolates, or a dozen roses, or a singing card that professes your undying love?!"_  Roman gaped.  
  
 _"...pretty sure only you would go for a card that sings and professes your undying love for your significant other,"_  Era snickered.  
  
 _"Maybe not the only one. It's an industry for some reason, but the only one in this group at least,"_  Chelsea added.  
  
 _"Darn, not even you? There goes my idea for your birthday gift..."_ Era snapped her fingers and let out an exaggerated sigh.  
  
 _"Its not even till April. You have plenty of time to figure things out. Worse comes to worse I could always use a few new writing notebooks,"_  Chelsea grinned.  
  
 _"You don't even use half the ones you already have!"_  Era arched an eyebrow.  
  
 _"They're nice books! The sooner I start using them, the sooner their pages will run out and I'll have to start a new one!"_  Chelsea protested.  
  
 _"...isn't that the whole point?"_  Astrit pointed out.  
  
The group continued to debate and discuss as they headed out the door. Virgil was semi surprised to see his brother with them, but Deceit smiled and gave him a curt wave as he headed out after the others.  _"Don't get into too much trouble without me,"_  Deceit noted. Virgil let out a snort and returned the wave.   
  
 _"And then there were two,"_  Astrit remarked.  _"What do you want to do?"_  
  
Virgil shrugged.  _Whatever,_  he wrote on his pad.  _You can go hang out with your other friends if you want._  He didn't want Astrit to think that he  _had_  to spend this time with Virgil.  
  
 _"You mean my Quidditch friends?"_  Astrit replied.  _"They all went to Hogsmeade too. There's not too many of us who hung back, save for the first and second years and maybe a few older students who have detention."_  
  
 _"I knew I'd probably find you guys here! Patton said you were staying behind!"_  a familiar voice called out.  
  
Toby.  
  
Virgil waved, expecting Toby to continue past. Instead he stopped directly in front of them.  
  
 _"You're Patton's younger brother, right? I don't think we've officially met. Astrit Zhupan."_  Astrit held out his hand for Toby to shake. Toby grinned and met Astrit's hand with his own.  
  
 _"It's great to meet you!"_  he said to Astrit.  
  
 _Enjoy Hogsmeade,_  Virgil wrote while Toby and Astrit were otherwise occupied.  
  
 _"I'm not going,"_  Toby responded, much to Virgil's surprise.   
  
 _"Not going? Aren't you a third year? I think I went to every Hogsmeade weekend during my year. You know, before I disappeared,"_  Astrit indicated with a wry grin.  
  
 _"Oh yeah, you got kidnapped by a dark wizard, didn't you?"_  Toby gasped.  
  
Virgil and Astrit meanwhile tried not to exchange glances, unsure of just how much Patton actually told Toby.  
  
 _"I'll go to the next one,"_  Toby said with a wave of his hand.  _"I wanted to talk to you, Virgil!"_  he confessed.  
  
"Hmmm?" Virgil was understandably befuddled by that statement. Wanting to talk to Virgil was hardly a reason to stay behind when he could do that at any point.  
  
 _"I know I could technically come up to you at any point, but...there's always too many people around, and I don't really want anyone to overhear what I say,"_  Toby admitted.  
  
 _"Guess that's my cue to leave,"_  Astrit noted.  
  
 _"No, you're fine!"_  Toby blurted out.  _"I meant, like, other Slytherins. It's okay if you overhear."_  
  
Virgil was  _very_  curious now.  
  
 _"I heard you were working on an article? I was wondering if you could...I dunno, interview me or something? I'd like to share my story,"_  Toby admitted.  
  
 _Are you sure that's safe?_  Virgil wrote with a frown.  
  
 _"Probably not,"_  Toby admitted, and Virgil's stomach lurched. Great, that was the  _last_  thing he wanted - something bad to happen to Toby while Patton was away at Hogsmeade.  
  
 _"But that's why I'll keep it anonymous!"_  Toby announced. Huh. He hadn't considered that option with Toby, which was a tad amusing as Chelsea's interview with Virgil about The Council was also anonymous.  
  
This...might actually work.  
  
 _Follow me,_  Virgil quickly jotted out. He showed his pad to Toby so that the younger student could read it, then motioned for the third year to follow him. He turned to Astrit and motioned for him to follow as well.

 _"Ohhh I know where we're going,"_  Astrit said with a grin as they ascended the staircase.   
  
 _"I don't. Is it far?"_  Toby frowned.  
  
 _"Nope, it's on the fourth floor,"_  Astrit explained.  
  
Virgil opened the door to the usual abandoned classroom he and his friends spent time in when they did not want to be overheard by other Hogwarts students.  
  
As it turned out, Toby did not want to tell  _his_  story so much as he wanted to tell the story of  _most_  Muggleborns in Hogwarts. He did give a few anecdotes, but nothing that would give away his identity. He wanted unaware half bloods and purebloods who actually cared to read and listen that recent events had them  _terrified_ , and if Virgil had to be honest,  _he_  was learning a few new things from this.  
  
It was Astrit who looked at his watch and spoke up first.  _"I should probably get going. I told Era I'd meet her when she gets back,"_  he told Virgil and Toby.  
  
 _"Its that late already?"_  Toby glanced over at Astrit's watch.  _"Huh, I guess it is. I'll probably come with you."_  
  
Virgil rose to his feet as well, and the three filed out of the classroom and headed toward the front of the school. Professor Goodwin rushed past them, then frowned, glancing back at them.  
  
 _"What are you three doing here?"_  she blinked in surprise. Virgil could not help but note that she looked almost  _frantic_ , like she was in a hurry to get...wherever it was she was headed to.  
  
 _"We decided to skip out on Hogsmeade weekend,"_  Toby explained.  
  
Professor Goodwin paled.  _"That's probably for the best. A mass casualty event has occurred there. I...I have to go. There's no telling...I'm sorry, I need to go,"_  Professor Goodwin went running, leaving a horror struck Virgil, Astrit, and Toby behind.


	29. Chapter 29

After the initial shock wore off, Virgil, Astrit, and Toby went to follow Professor Goodwin. Astrit moved first, followed by Virgil, then finally Toby.  
  
They didn't make it far, however.  
  
_"And just where do you think you're going?"_  the Headmistress' voice called out.   
  
_"Hogsmeade,"_  Toby replied. Virgil could tell it took the third year everything in his power not to respond with 'duh'...or maybe he was just considering what  _he'd_  do in the same situation if he could talk.  
  
_"I don't think so. Did you not hear about the-"_  the Headmistress started.  
  
_"The mass casualty event. We know,"_  Astrit snapped. Virgil could not help but think of how horrified Logan would be at the sight of Astrit  _snapping at the Headmistress_.  
  
_Logan_. A fresh wave of horror swept over Virgil. Logan was in Hogsmeade. And all because Virgil convinced him to go...  
  
Logan was far from the only one, of course. Roman, Patton, Era, Chelsea, August, Seth, Deceit...and who knew who else?  
  
Virgil felt dizzy. What if they were all hurt? What if it was worse than that? He wanted to know, because he couldn't  _stand_  not knowing, but what if the news was something he did not want to hear?  
  
Virgil jolted so hard that he nearly fell over when he felt a hand settle on his shoulder.  
  
_"Follow me, you three,"_  Professor Picani's voice instructed them.  
  
_"But my brothers are in danger!"_  Toby glared.  _"I'm not-"_  
  
_"You might be in danger too if you go after them,"_  Professor Picani admitted sadly.  
  
_"But...I can't..what if there's something I can do to help?"_  Toby's voice shook.  
  
_"There are already a number of staff headed up to Hogsmeade as we speak, as well as people from both St. Mungo's and the Ministry,"_  Professor Picani informed them.  _"They are all going to help. But right now, my job is to make sure the students at the school are safe, and that includes you three. Especially you, Virgil - I'm fairly certain that your mother would murder me if I let anything happen to you on my watch."_  Virgil's gaze turned downward. He was unsure how to react to that admission.  
  
_"What happened? Everyone keeps saying there was a mass casualty event but no one is telling us what happened!"_  Astrit blurted out after an extended silence.  
  
Professor Picani took a deep breath.  _"We're still working out the details, but we definitely believe that it was a deliberate attack..."_  
  
\-------------------------  
  
_"You know, it's too bad Virgil didn't come. We could have gone on a double date to Madam Puddifoot's!"_  Patton told Logan.  
  
_"Excuse me? Don't you mean a triple date?"_  Chelsea folded her arms across her chest.

 _"I didn't think you and Era liked Madam Puddifoot's?"_  Patton frowned in confusion.  
  
_"We don't,"_  Chelsea admitted.  _"Just figured if you were going for a double date we might as well come along too."_  
  
_"Virgil and I have no interest in going to Madam Puddifoot's,"_  Logan clarified.  _"So you need not worry about being left out of a double or triple date."_  
  
_"I need to visit the book store. If anyone wishes to accompany me they are more than welcome to do so,"_  Logan told the others.  
  
_"Eh, why not?"_  Era replied with a shrug.  
  
_"Ugh, we'll come, but only if you agree to come to Honeydukes with us afterward,"_  Roman told Logan.  
  
Logan arched an eyebrow.  _"I prefer healthier snacks that are not bad for your teeth."_  
  
_"Oh come on, one sweet treat isn't going to rot your teeth!"_  Roman protested.  
  
Logan sighed.  _"Fine, I will humor you and accompany you. Take note that I do not have any interest in making a purchase at Honeyduke's, however."_  
  
_"Not even for Virgil?"_  Era teased.  
  
Logan's cheeks turned red.  _"I, er, we'll see."_  
  
_"Well well, is that your final answer Logan?"_  Deceit teased, a knowing smirk on his face.  
  
Logan blushed even harder.  
  
The group made their way to the bookstore.

Roman's attention, however, was captured by a broomstick sitting in the window of the Hogsmeade branch of Quality Quidditch Supplies.   
  
Patton caught him staring at the broomstick longingly and snickered.  _"Do you want to go in?"_  
  
_"I'd rather do this than look at books,"_  Roman admitted.  
  
_"Then let's go!"_  Patton reached for the door.  
  
_"I thought you needed to buy a book for Care of Magical Creatures?"_  Roman pointed out.  
  
_"Oh, right!"_  Patton gasped.  
  
_"I'll meet you at Honeydukes, my love,"_  Roman squeezed Patton's hand.

 _"Its a date,"_  Patton grinned. The two shared a quick kiss before heading their separate ways. 

The two shared a quick kiss before heading their separate ways. Roman lingered outside of the Quidditch store for a while longer. RHe waited until the others were within the bookstore before he ducked into a small pet store.  
  
The broomstick looked nice, yes, but Roman wasn't here to look at a broomstick for himself. He was here to get something nice for his fiance. He knew that Patton was under a lot of stress recently after what happened to his younger brother, and Roman wanted to give his fiance something  _nice_  for a change.  
  
Roman peered around. Oh, he was certain he'd find something good for Patton in here! Patton never had a pet at Hogwarts, always wanting a cat but his allergies standing in the way of that aspiration. The closest Patton came to a pet was the owl that he and his siblings all shared and used to write letters home to their parents. There had to be some other fluffy creature that Patton would adore...  
  
His gaze fell upon a gathering of small fuzzy creatures near the back of the store.   
  
_Puffskeins._  Patton would  _love_  one, and it wouldn't set off his allergies! Roman stood over the cage they were in for a few moments.   
  
_"Roman? What are you doing here?"_  a familiar voice spoke. Roman felt as if his blood had immediately turned to ice. He  _had_  to be mishearing...  
  
_"Roman?"_  the voice repeated.  
  
_"Delilah,"_  Roman said in a cold tone, narrowing his eyes and adopting a defensive stance.  _"To what do I owe the displeasure?"_


	30. Chapter 30

Virgil felt as if someone shocked him in the gut.  
  
 _"Deliberate...you mean on purpose?"_  Toby stared.  
  
Professor Picani nodded slowly.  
  
On purpose. His boyfriend, his friends, his  _brother_... _every single one of them might be hurt or worse_ , and someone did that intentionally? Virgil's hands began to curl into fists, something he was hardly aware of doing.  
  
 _"Why would someone do something like...you know, what, nevermind, I think I know why,"_  Toby replied. Virgil chanced a glance upward, and saw that Toby was scowling. Astrit looked as though he were about ready to  _throw_  something.  _None_  of them were happy,  _all_  of them wanted to act, because  _all_  of them  had family in Hogsmeade, all of them had  _friends_  in Hogsmeade, and none of them had any way of knowing whether their family and friends were alright until they saw their friends and family standing in front of them again.  
  
... _if_  they saw their friends and family again.  
  
Virgil felt a lump begin to grow in his throat as he considered the other possibility.  _His boyfriend. His brother. His best friends._  
  
 _"This has to do with the recent protests, doesn't it?"_  Astrit glowered.  
  
Professor Picani let out a sigh.  _"We don't know that for certain, of course, but..."_  
  
But Virgil knew what Professor Picani was getting at, and he was fairly certain that Toby and Astrit worked it out as well. There might not be any definitive proof at this point, but it made sense as a conclusion to draw - and that in itself was discomforting.  
  
\-------------------------  
  
 _"It's good to see you too,"_  Delilah responded with a small smirk.  
  
Roman glared.  _"Fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice and shame on me. I'm not going to let you fool me again."_  
  
Delilah gave a slight shrug.  _"That's fair. You know...I didn't expect things to go as badly as they did when I brought you to your parents."_  
  
 _"And that's supposed to make it better?"_  Roman shook his head.  _"You took me to my parents for a reason, and it certainly wasn't to stage a happy family reunion."_  
  
 _"I didn't think they hated you that much though. I mean, they were willing to throw you under the bus so that Phillip didn't find out they killed James?"_  Delilah arched an eyebrow.   
  
 _"Thanks for the reminder that the feeling is mutual,"_  Roman noted.  _"Now leave."_  
  
Delilah took a step forward, and Roman immediately reached for his pocket.  
  
 _"Wait, are you going to attack me?"_  Delilah's eyes followed the path of Roman's hand.  
  
 _"Attack implies offense. You were walking toward me, I was moving to defend myself,"_  Roman asserted.  
  
 _"Look, Roman...I wasn't lying when I told you that I missed you,"_  Delilah admitted.  
  
 _"Yes, you were,"_  Roman replied. When Delilah opened her mouth to respond, Roman cut her off before she could speak.  _"Perhaps not to me, but to yourself."_  
  
 _"...excuse me?"_  Delilah looked taken aback.  
  
 _"You miss our childhood, before any of this mattered,"_  Roman informed her.  
  
 _"It's always mattered. We were betrothed from the time we were only a few years old! That never used to bother you back then!"_  Delilah insisted.  
  
 _"Because I didn't understand what that meant back then. And don't try to claim that you did, because I know you didn't. We were kids,"_  Roman protested.  
  
Delilah bit down on her lip before letting out a drawn out sigh.  _"That doesn't mean that we should go against it, though. This is to protect wizarding kind. Don't you realize that?"_  
  
Roman arched an eyebrow at that.  _"To protect wizard kind?"_  
  
 _"Yes...you know that purebloods are dying out. And if purebloods die out, magic will grow more and more diluted with every generation until magic completely dies out!"_  Delilah explained.  
  
 _"You...you really believe that?"_  Roman asked her.  
  
Delilah gave a curt nod.  _"Of course I do."_  
  
Roman let out a forced laugh.  _"Why?"_  
  
Delilah blinked, clearly not expecting Roman to ask something like that.  _"What?"_  
  
 _"Why do you believe that magic is going to die out if purebloods die out?"_  Roman continued.  
  
 _"It stands to reason, doesn't it?"_  
  
Roman shook his head.  _"No, it doesn't. Muggleborns would not exist if it were simply a matter of Muggle blood diluting the magic. Half bloods would not be as powerful as purebloods, yet one of the smartest wizards I know is a halfblood with a full Muggle mother. So spare me that argument, because I don't buy it."_  
  
Delilah sighed.  _"Oh well. I figured it was worth a shot."_  She looked genuinely disappointed, though Roman wasn't entirely sure why. She should have  _known_  it would turn out this way.   
  
 _"If you'll excuse me, I should be on my way. I hope to never see you again,"_  Roman told her, but he suddenly felt something squeezing his arm.  
  
 _"Wait!"_  Delilah shouted.  
  
Roman was so surprised that he turned back toward her, though he hastily pulled out his wand and pointed it at Delilah.  _"Don't even think about trying anything like what you pulled last time. I'm not going willingly."_  
  
 _"You didn't go willingly last time either,"_  Delilah pointed out.  _"But it's not about that. I think you should stay in here for a couple more minutes. I mean, you obviously came in here for a reason, didn't you?"_  
  
 _"To purchase a pet for my fiance,"_  Roman admitted.  _"But I can always come back another time, when I don't have to be in the company of someone with such vile views toward myself and those I care about most."_  He turned to the door once more.  
  
 _"Er...wait! Maybe you should buy some treats for your owl? I mean, you are here..."_  
  
 _"What is your deal with preventing me from leaving?"_  Roman narrowed his eyes.   
  
 _"I...I don't want you to get hurt,"_  Delilah admitted in a quiet voice.   
  
 _"Hurt? What on Earth could you possibly mean by that?"_    
  
Delilah glanced down at her watch.  _"It should start any second now..."_  she stated, her voice sounding oddly detached. Seconds later, a bright flash erupted outside, and the windows shook.


	31. Chapter 31

As important as it was, Virgil found it difficult to focus on what Professor Picani was telling him in light of everything else. He kept glancing toward the door, hoping that someone would barge in with good news that everyone was fine and no one was hurt.  
  
It was a foolish hope, of course. They were calling it a mass casualty event for a reason - There were multiple casualties. Virgil swallowed past the ever growing lump in his throat.

 _"From what I've heard thus far, it started with what seemed like an explosion,"_  Professor Picani told them.   
  
Oh  _Merlin_.  
  
\-------------------------------  
  
Roman stared in horror at the  _fire_  that awaited him outside of the window.  _"What...what have you done?"_  he gasped.  
  
 _"I didn't do anything,"_  Delilah replied.  
  
Roman turned to face her at once.  _"Bullshit! You knew exactly when this was going to happen!"_  
  
Delilah folded her arms across her chest in a defensive stance.  _"That doesn't mean that I had anything to do with it. I've been in here the whole time, how could I have set any of this up?"_  
  
Roman studied Delilah for a moment, then scowled and turned away.  _"You know, I truly don't think you're lying."_  
  
Delilah smiled and took a couple of steps forward.  _"Of course I'm not. I just wanted to protect you-"_  
  
 _"Shut up,"_  Roman snapped. Delilah took a few steps back in surprise.  
  
 _"Excuse me?"_  Delilah frowned.  _"I thought you just agreed that I had nothing to do with this?"_  
  
 _"No, I don't think you personally cast whatever spell caused this, or created the apparatus that did this, or...whatever happened here. But you knew that something was going to happen. You knew that something was going to happen and you did nothing,"_ Roman growled.  
  
 _"That's not true!"_  Delilah protested.  
  
Roman let out a wry chuckle.  _"No, I suppose you're right. You tried to save me, didn't you?"_  
  
 _"Of course I did, because I still care for you,"_  Delilah assured him.  _"I didn't want you hurt!"_  
  
 _"I already am,"_  Roman turned back to Delilah with a glare.  _"My fiance is out there, as well as my friends. The thought of their being in pain hurts me. And I refuse to stand by while they are in danger. The fact that you do not understand that says a lot about you, Delilah."_  He turned to leave.  
  
 _"No!"_  Delilah screamed, grabbing for Roman's arm as he went for the door.  _"It's dangerous out there, you could die!"_  
  
 _"BACK OFF!"_  Roman growled. Delilah let go of Roman's arm in surprise.   
  
 _"Before I go, I do have one question. What is going on out there?"_ Roman asked.  
  
 _"Fiendfyre. It's fiendfyre,"_  Delilah replied in a breathless tone.  
  
Roman nodded, casting one last glare her way.  _"Thanks for nothing."_  Without a second thought, Roman ran out into the chaotic scene unfolding on the main street of Hogsmeade.  
  
\---------------------------------  
  
 _"I can't believe Roman ditched us to go to some Quidditch store,"_ Chelsea said with a roll of her eyes.  
  
 _"Hey, I'd rather him do something that he enjoys as opposed to dragging him along to a place he's bound to be bored!"_  Patton smiled, carrying with him a brand new book dedicated to Care of Magical Creatures that would hopefully help him study for his NEWTs.  
  
 _"I admit, the overall environs of the bookstore were more peaceful than I am accustomed to, as we were spared Roman's incessant objections for the duration of our trip,"_  Logan noted.  
  
 _"So he's still at the Quidditch shop? He's been there a while, hasn't he?"_  Era asked with a skeptical expression.  
  
 _"I'm certain he's just checking out the newest models and seeing how long it will take him to save up for them and afford them,"_ Deceit taunted, casting a glance toward the pet store when he was certain that no one else was looking.  
  
Roman might  _think_  he was clever, but Deceit knew what he was doing, and he found the whole thing highly amusing. That said, he was perfectly willing to keep Roman's secret.  
  
 _"He said he'd meet us at Honeydukes! Maybe he's already there!"_ Patton called out. He started for Honeydukes at once.  
  
 _"Or maybe we'll have to drag him out of Quality Quidditch Supplies kicking and screaming,"_  Era smirked.  
  
 _"I admit, I would love to record that moment for posterity's sake. Is anyone in current possession of a camera?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
 _"Left mine back at the door, sorry Logan,"_  Chelsea replied.  
  
 _"You know, it's a good thing we haven't seen any of those protesters yet!"_  Patton remarked, still in the lead of the pack.  
  
 _"Yes, I'm sure everything has magically fixed itself since the last time we were here, because it's just that easy,"_  Deceit replied with a roll of his eyes.  
  
 _"...I'm with D-Adam, I mean Adam,"_  Chelsea admitted.  _"They wouldn't have given up that ea-"_  
  
She paused, her eyes widening.  
  
 _"Does anyone else hear screaming?"_  Era asked in a quiet tone.  
  
One look down the road behind them gave them all the answers they sought. Enchanted flames tearing down the road. But no, they were more than enchanted flames...they were  _creatures made of flame_ , hungry creatures that seemed to devour everything in their paths. And the further they made it down the road, the more of them there appeared to be.  
  
 _"Fiendfyre,"_  Logan narrowed his eyes.  
  
 _"We don't need to know what it is, we need to know how to fight back against it!"_  Era snapped.  _"Got any information on that, Encyclopedia Dicax?"_  
  
Logan shook his head, paling.  _"Normal spells do not work against it."_  
  
 _"Not even Aguamenti?"_  Patton frowned.  
  
 _"Especially not Aguamenti,"_  Logan admitted.  
  
 _"We have to help!"_  Patton told his friends.  _"People are getting hurt!"_  
  
 _"I don't believe that we need to worry about helping others,"_ Deceit replied.  
  
 _"Excuse me, just because your moral compass is a hot mess doesn't me that the rest of ours are,"_  Chelsea snipped.   
  
 _"No you idiots! We don't have to worry about helping others because the thing is coming directly to us!"_  Deceit snapped, pointing his wand toward the creature at once.  
  
The others quickly adopted battle poses as well, despite having  _no_  idea of what they ought to do next. Logan acted as though there was a way to fight the creature, but if Aguamenti didn't work, what would?  
  
Too bad facing something like  _this_  was never a part of the Hogwarts curriculum.


	32. Chapter 32

Virgil and the others sat in relative silence as they waited for more news. There was little more that Professor Picani could say, as details about what happened in Hogsmeade were still coming out.  
  
None of them were handling this very well. Virgil had to keep closing his eyes and breathing in and out to stop himself from spiraling out of control, and even then he still felt shaky and out of sorts. Astrit was staring at the ground with his fists clenched, looking like he would like to do nothing more than punch every single person responsible for what happened.  
  
Virgil could relate, and he suspected that not  _all_  of his trembling came from nerves.  
  
Toby looked near tears. He kept seeing the third year blinked rapidly, as if to try to hold them back. Virgil could relate to  _that_ as well.  
  
A knock on the door caused them all to jump. All four of them glanced at each other, as if questioning the others whether it was a good idea to open the door.  
  
For all they knew, whatever or whoever attacked in Hogsmeade might have made its way into Hogwarts by this point.  
  
Toby let out a whimper. Astrit shot him a glare. Toby did not notice this, but instead kept his gaze on the ground, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle any further noises. Astrit's face softened at this, and he went over to Toby.  
  
_"We're in this together,"_  Virgil was close enough to hear Astrit whisper to Toby.  _"If we do go out, we're going to go out fighting. Got it?"_  Astrit removed his wand from his robes.  
  
Toby wiped away a few stray tears and nodded, retrieving his own wand. Virgil did the same as Professor Picani crept toward the door, his own wand at the ready. Virgil lingered close behind, wanting to be the first to act in the event that something happened the moment the door opened.  
  
Professor Picani pulled open the door.  
  
Professor Foley stood on the other side.  
  
The room let out a collective sigh of relief, though the overall air was still tense. Just because the man at the door was not a threat did not mean that they were out of the woods. They still didn't know how their loved ones were.  
  
_"The threat has been neutralized,"_  Professor Foley noted.  _"Hogwarts is safe."_  
  
Professor Picani nodded, then glanced back at Virgil, Toby, and Astrit.  _"Is there any news on the students that were in Hogsmeade?"_  
  
Professor Foley's face was still awfully pale. That wasn't a good sign.  
  
_"Some,"_  Professor Foley admitted.  _"There was a lot of destruction, see..we know that some students are alright, and they are on their way back to the castle as we speak. We know that some students are not alright, though. Some of these students are being taken to the Hospital Wing or St. Mungo's."_  
  
_"Some?"_  Toby blurted out.  _"Why only some? What about the others?"_  
  
Professor Foley drew in a deep breath.  _"Because some of them didn't make it."_  
  
It seemed as if every tear that Toby was holding back earlier boiled up to the surface at that very moment. The boy collapsed into sobs. Professor Picani immediately made his way over to Toby.  
  
"Who?" Virgil asked at once, struggling with all of his might to  _keep it together_.

Professor Foley blinked in confusion because  _duh, of course, he couldn't understand Virgil_...  
  
_"I believe he's asking who was...who didn't make it?"_  Astrit quickly amended his words. Using  _those words_  would only make what happened that much more real.  
  
Virgil was briefly taken aback by how well Astrit was able to guess at what he was saying until he realized that it wasn't hard at all for Astrit to put himself in Virgil's shoes. They were in the same position, waiting to hear about their friends and family. Realizing that he had yet to provide an actual response, Virgil nodded in agreement with Astrit's assessment then turned to Professor Foley and nodded as well, for good measure.  
  
Professor Foley shook his head.  _"Its hard to tell at this point. As I said, there's...there's a lot of wreckage, and a lot of people being tended to, both students from Hogsmeade and residents of Hogsmeade alike, and...I'm so sorry, I wish I could tell you more."_  
  
_"You've told us what you could. Thank you,"_  Professor Picani assured his fellow professor. Professor Foley nodded and hurried out the door.  
  
_"Why did you send him away?"_  Astrit snapped.  _"I want answers!"_  
  
Anger bubbled up within Virgil as well. They knew little more than they did  _before_  Professor Foley came barging in. Truth be told, Virgil wasn't entirely sure where all of this ire was coming from, but he seized it and wielded it like a weapon. He ripped his pad from his pocket and hastily scribbled out exactly what was on his mind.  
  
_Why did you do that? He knows what happened! Don't you care about what happened to them? Don't you care about them?_  He then balled up the paper and threw it at Professor Picani.  
  
Professor Picani uncrumpled the paper and read it. He looked to Virgil and offered a sad smile.  
  
Virgil's anger was at a boiling point. His hands were clenched into fists, and he shook in fury. How dare Professor Picani  _smile_  at him, as if everything was fine and dandy, as if they hadn't just heard news that their friends and family might be dead, but  _no one knew for certain_?  
  
_Why couldn't anyone provide an answer, dammit?!_  
  
...why was his vision blurry all of a sudden?  
  
Virgil fell to his knees, as if someone sapped each of his legs of their strength at once. He dabbed at his eyes, only for his hands to come away wet. It was as if all of his anger melted away at once.

Instead, he felt tired, frustrated, desperate...and  _afraid_.

As his anger dissipated into something else, so too did his resolve. Sobs wracked his entire figure, and he was vaguely aware of someone wrapping their arms around him.


	33. Chapter 33

Virgil kept glancing at the door. He'd since regained his composure, though the only reason he was able to hold himself together at this point was the knowledge that they didn't  _know_  what happened to their friends and family, and thus there was still reason to hope.  
  
He didn't want to hope  _too_  hard though, out of fear that if he hoped too hard it would jinx their fate and trigger the worst possible outcome.  
  
He knew it didn't make sense  _logically_ , but logic was never Virgil's forte. It was Logan's.  
  
_Logan_. Of all times for Virgil to urge Logan to go to Hogsmeade, he had to pick  _this_  Hogsmeade weekend. Of all times for something like this to happen, it had to be when students from Hogwarts were there. Virgil suspected that was intentional, of course - though they'd received no word as to the identity of the culprit, they had a fairly educated guess based on the timing of the attack.

There was a knock on the door, and Professor Picani leaped up at once. Virgil reached for his wand, despite Professor Foley's earlier assurance that Hogwarts was safe. He'd rather they be safe than sorry.  
  
_"Oh, hello! I haven't seen you two in a good while!"_  Professor Picani said. Virgil could practically hear the smile in his tone, so he reasoned that it couldn't be a threat. He peeked around Professor Picani, nearly dropping his wand in surprise at what - or rather  _who_  - he saw standing there.  
  
_"I heard Astrit was in here?"_  Virgil heard Era say before he even saw her face. So, too, did Astrit.  
  
_"ERA!"_  he shouted, jumping to his feet and running at his sister. The two wrapped their arms tightly around one another. Chelsea slipped her hand out of Era's just before the impact so as to not get caught in the middle, though she wore a fond smile as she watched the joyful reunion between her girlfriend and Astrit.  
  
As pleased as he was to see Chelsea and Era safe, he could not help but feel disappointed. Then he felt  _guilty_  for this, as Chelsea and Era were close friends too, and he should be just as happy to see them as he would be to see Logan.  
  
Chelsea apparently saw his face fall, because she offered him a small smile.  _"He's alright."_  
  
"Hmmm?" Virgil asked.  
  
_"Logan. He's alright,"_  Chelsea assured him.  
  
Then where was he? Virgil glanced around.  _"He's in the Hospital Wing."_  
  
Virgil's stomach lurched. His eyes must have widened as well, for Chelsea seemed to recognize instantly that she should have given more information and immediately went to remedy her mistake.  _"He's not hurt that badly, part of his robes got singed and I believe he has a burn on his side. But he's alright, they're just bandaging him up and I think giving him some salve for it."_  
  
Virgil let out a sigh of relief.  
  
_"He should be down here in a little while. We told him to meet us here,"_  Chelsea noted. Her gaze swept over to Astrit and Era, who were talking animatedly in Albanian.   
  
Virgil slipped his pad from his pocket once more.  _Where are the others?_  
  
Chelsea's smile faded at once.  _"They're not back yet?"_  
  
Virgil shook his head, gesturing to those around the room.   
  
Chelsea paled.  _"I thought they'd gotten back before us...you haven't heard from any of them yet?"_  
  
Virgil shook his head. Professor Picani was tending to Toby, while Era and Astrit were still talking.  
  
_"We were on our way to Honeydukes from the bookstore when the Fiendfyre hit,"_  Chelsea informed him.  _Fiendfyre? No wonder there was so much destruction._  
  
_"Do you have any idea where the others are?"_  Astrit wondered.  
  
_"We have no idea where Roman is,"_  Era admitted.  _"He went off shopping on his own. We were supposed to meet him at Honeydukes. I don't know if he was already there, still at the store he was at, or on his way like us."_  
  
So they had no idea whether Roman was...Virgil shuddered.

 _"What about Patton and D-Adam?"_  Astrit quickly amended before giving too much away, realizing that Toby didn't know about Deceit.  
  
Era and Chelsea exchanged somber glances.  
  
 _"Patton ran off to find Roman. Adam went after Patton. We don't know where they are either,"_  Chelsea admitted.  
  
Virgil's eyes went wide.  _Deceit_  of all people went after Patton?  
  
...two of his friends and his brother were still missing, and his other friends had no idea where they were despite being so close to the action that Logan's robes were singed.  
  
 _"Patton's still missing?"_  Toby asked in a voice barely above a whisper.   
  
When Chelsea and Era looked at him in surprise, he flinched a little at the sudden attention, but quickly regained his composure.  _"What about August and Seth? Do you know anything about them?"_  
  
 _"Those are your triplet brothers, right?"_  Era verified.  
  
Toby nodded.  
  
 _"You know, I thought I saw a kid that looked a lot like him on the way back to Hogwarts,"_  Chelsea stroked her chin in contemplation.

 _"Just one kid?"_  Toby frowned.  _"You sure you didn't see two? August and Seth are usually pretty inseparable."_  
  
 _"I might not have even seen the one. It was pretty crazy on the way back. Whoever I saw did look a lot like you though, for what it's worth,"_  Chelsea informed him. Noticing his long face, Chelsea opted to add a bit more to her statement.  _"Sorry I couldn't be more help. We could head down to the Entrance Hall together to see if we could spot them?"_  
  
Toby's eyes widened at that.  _"Could we?"_  
  
 _"I think we should all head down there, honestly,"_  Astrit admitted.  _"I'm still wondering about a few Quidditch friends of mine. And this way they won't have to hunt us down, we can find them ourselves."_  
  
 _Hospital Wing?_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"You wanna stop by the Hospital Wing on the way down?"_  Era asked.  
  
Virgil nodded. In the event that Logan was still in the Hospital Wing, Virgil didn't want to miss him.  
  
 _"There is also the possibility that we may find some of the others in there,"_  Astrit pointed out in a hesitant tone.  
  
...a fair point, though one that did not help to soothe Virgil's stomach in the least.   
  
 _"I should probably escort you down there. Everyone's still a little on edge, and it'll help if you're escorted down there by a member of the Hogwarts staff,"_  Professor Picani proposed, making his way toward the door.  
  
 _Logan's alright. Logan's alright._  Virgil kept repeating in his head to stay calm. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he saw Logan, who was  _fine_ , Chelsea and Era assured him of that...  
  
It was probably only a matter of time before they came across their other friends as well.


	34. Chapter 34

Virgil and the others made their way toward the Entrance Hall, Professor Picani leading the way. Occassionally he would come across groups of students talking, and occasionally reunions that rivalled the one between Era and Astrit in their intensity.  
  
Virgil could not help but feel jealous of that, and thus kept his eyes directed at the ground for the majority of the journey.  _Logan's alright, you're going to see him soon,_  Virgil reminded himself. He might not know where his brother and two of his closest friends were, but his boyfriend was safe. He needed to focus on that, because otherwise he'd dissolve into tears again.  
  
\-----------------  
  
_"I gotta say, this was a brilliant idea on your part, Adam,"_  Era told Deceit.  
  
Deceit shrugged in what might appear at first glance to be a modest fashion, but there was a satisfied grin on his face nevertheless.  _"Ah, it was nothing."_  
  
Deceit proposed using their Patronuses to redirect the Fiendfyre. And it  _worked_ , much to the surprise of Patton, Logan, Era, and Chelsea. 

 _"Ouch! Son of a..."_  Logan shouted, falling forward just as he redirected the last of the Fiendfyre away from his friends.  
  
_"Aguamenti!"_  Chelsea called out at once, a jet of water streaming out from the end of her wand, putting out the flame on Logan's robes.  
  
_"I thought you said regular spells don't work on Fiendfyre?"_  Era raised an eyebrow.  
  
_"They don't,"_  Logan confirmed.  
  
_"Then how..."_  Patton started to ask, but Logan cut in to provide the explanation before the Hufflepuff could even finish.  
  
_"Regular spells do not impact the Fiendfyre as a single entity. In fact, I suspect that if Chelsea attempted to cast that same spell on the Fiendfyre proper, it would only serve to feed the flames,"_ he noted.  
  
_"Then why did it work on Logan?"_  Patton wondered.  
  
_"I'm sure it had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the flame on Logan's back was separated physically from the Fiendfyre by that point,"_  Deceit remarked.   
  
Logan looked to Deceit and smirked.  _"Precisely."_  
  
_"Well, we have a choice- We can aid the denizens of Hogsmeade in vanquishing this foe, or we can...ouch,"_  Logan winced as he rose to his feet.  
  
_"That didn't sound good,"_  Chelsea frowned.  
  
Logan lifted the back of his now tattered robes to expose his back.  
  
_"Yeah, I'm making an executive decision here. You're going to the Hospital Wing and getting those burns checked out,"_  Era declared. She turned.  _"Patton, do you have any...where did he go?"_  
  
_"What do you mean 'where did he go'?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
_"I mean where did he go? He was here just a minute a...Adam, what in Merlin's name are you doing?"_  Era gaped at him as he made to take off directly toward the flames.  
  
_"I suspect that Patton has tired of Roman playing the hero all of the time,"_  Deceit noted.  
  
_"You don't mean..."_  Chelsea stared off into the flames.

Deceit nodded in response, then ran off after Patton.  
  
Era and Chelsea exchanged glances.   
  
Before they could run or even call after him, one of the professors came running up to them.  
  
_"There's a clear path this way! Come on!"_  Professor Avenir beckoned for them to follow. She then proceeded to yell toward another figure.  _"I found three more students!"_  
  
Professor Stokes ran up to them at once, beckoning for Logan, Chelsea, and Era to follow them.  _"We need to get you three back to the castle."_  
  
Logan, Chelsea, and Era were ushered into a large group of students and professors evacuating the village of Hogsmeade, despite their protests. Era even tried to stage an escape at one point, but they were caught by Professor Stokes.  
  
By the time they made it back to the castle, they tried to see if they could find Roman, Patton, and Deceit, but had no luck doing so.  
  
\-----------------  
  
Virgil wished he'd been there. Maybe then he could have done something to ensure that Patton, Deceit, and Roman returned safely.  
  
Maybe he'd be the one missing. Wouldn't be the first time he'd gone missing from Hogsmeade.  
  
At least then he would have been able to  _do something_.

 _"Virgil! I'm right here!"_  Virgil heard a familiar voice call out.  _Logan._  
  
Virgil's heart felt as if it did a somersault within his chest.  
  
He peered in the direction Logan's voice came from, spotting the Ravenclaw with one hand in the air waving to him.  
  
Virgil broke out running, and he didn't stop until he had his arms around Logan, squeezing him tightly.  
  
_"Ouch!"_  Logan winced, and Virgil pulled back immediately, eyes wide.  
  
_"Apologies, my back is a bit tender..."_  he admitted.  
  
Virgil's eyes were filled with tears.  
  
_"I apologize, Virgil, I did not mean to frighten you. I am alright, aside from a few second degree burns on my back,"_  Logan explained.  
  
Virgil rapidly shook his head, trying in vain to wipe his tears away with his hands before retrieving his pad from his pocket.  
  
_"Actually, I believe Virgil's tears are tears of another variety? Tears of joy, perhaps?"_  Professor Picani posited.  
  
Virgil nodded and pointed in Professor Picani's direction to indicate that Picani was correct.  
  
Logan's face, previously etched with alarm, softened and Logan managed a slight smile.  
  
_"Oh, I suppose I can understand that."_  This time Logan initiated the hug.

Virgil felt ridiculous for crying  _now_  of all times. He didn't like crying in front of people in general, but crying because he was  _happy_?  
  
It was hard to worry too much about that though, as he breathed in the scent of Logan's shampoo. Logan was safe in his arms, and he was safe in Logan's.  
  
_"NO!"_  A sudden shout diverted the couple's attention, and the two pulled away from one another to see what was going on.  
  
Toby was gone, as was Professor Picani. Virgil's gaze turned to Era, Chelsea, and Astrit in confusion.  
  
_"I think he needed some time away from us,"_  Astrit explained.  _"I don't blame him, honestly. He keeps seeing us reunite with people and he hasn't found any of his brothers yet."_  
  
_"You haven't seen Patton either?"_  Logan frowned.  
  
_"We haven't seen Roman or Adam either,"_  Chelsea admitted in a solemn tone.  
  
_"They're still evacuating the village,"_  Era noted.  _"I'm sure they're just...still on their way."_  
  
Virgil wished that Era sounded more certain when she said that.


	35. Chapter 35

Virgil, Logan, Era, Astrit, and Chelsea sat in wait.  
  
There was still no sign of Professor Picani or Toby.  
  
There was no sign of Roman, Patton, or Deceit either.   
  
Virgil kept a tight hold on Logan's hand, as if contact with Logan was the only thing keeping him from spiralling out of control.  
  
And, considering the situation, the same might be true for  _Logan_. Virgil gave Logan's hand a squeeze to remind Logan that he was there, and Logan squeezed his hand in return a few seconds later.   
  
\-------------------  
  
Roman didn't know what happened to the others. He didn't even know what happened to Delilah.  
  
He was a bit sorry for that. He'd been in such a rush to get  _away_  from her that he hadn't stop to consider that he should have taken her with him. Not to rescue her, but to  _turn her in_.  
  
In the best case scenario, she knew what was going to happen and did nothing to prevent it. In the worst case scenario, she joined the attacker or attackers after Roman fled.  
  
And he didn't even find his friends.  
  
He was herded back to the castle with other students. Somehow he wound up in the line to be checked out in the Hospital Wing, and didn't even realize that he was in the wrong line until he stood in front of the Healer.  
  
He felt numb and out of sorts.

The Healer would ask him questions, then would have to repeat herself because Roman found it hard to focus on what she was saying. Ultimately, she deduced that he had no  _physical_  injuries, and sent him on his way so that she could check out the next person in line.  
  
He likely would have found a place to sit and zoned out until who knew when had he not spotted a familiar face peering around.  
  
_"August? Or are you Seth?"_  Roman approached the Hufflepuff.   
  
_"Seth,"_  he replied.  _"I don't know where August is. We got separated back in Hogsmeade when the Fiendfyre came down the street."_  
  
_"You got separated?"_  Roman repeated in horror.  _"But you do everything together!"_  
  
_"Not everything,"_  Seth frowned.  _"But just about everything, and I haven't been able to find him yet. I wonder if Patton would know where he is?"_  
  
The third year looked at Roman expectantly. Seth didn't even have to ask; Roman  _knew_  why Seth was looking at him in that fashion.  _"I haven't seen Patton,"_  Roman admitted.  
  
_"You haven't?"_  Seth blinked in surprise.  _"You two do a lot together too."_  
  
_"We do. I was...I was looking for a gift for him. A puffskein,"_ Roman confessed.  _"So I took advantage of his going to the bookstore with our other friends, but that means that I wasn't with any of them when the Fiendfyre appeared,"_  Roman fought back an involuntary shudder, trying to keep up a strong face for Seth's sake. Either it worked or Seth was being polite, because Seth made no note of it.  
  
_"...so you don't know where Patton is either,"_  Seth realized.  _"I don't know where any of my brothers are!"_  
  
_"What about Toby?"_  Roman wondered.  
  
_"Toby stayed behind. Said something about wanting to take care of something. So he should be safe,"_  Seth realized, relief briefly passing over his features. At least Roman's question reminded him that  _one_  of his brothers was safe.  
  
_"I have an idea,"_  Roman announced.  
  
_"What sort of idea?"_  Seth wondered.  
  
_"We'll search for Patton and August together!"_  Roman declared.  _"That way we can keep each other company, and four eyes is better than two, right?"_    
  
Seth nodded.  
  
_"Then it's settled. We are on a mission to locate your brothers!"_  
  
\------------------  
  
A short while later, Professor Picani and Toby returned. Toby's eyes were still red from crying, but Virgil opted not to say anything.   
  
_Not that that means much,_  Virgil thought to himself, shaking his head. Of course he opted not to say anything, he  _couldn't_ say anything unless he wrote it.  
  
But even if he  _could_  talk, he didn't want to pry into Toby's business. If the fourteen year old wanted to share what happened he would, but if not, Virgil didn't want him to feel pressured into telling them why he ran off, or else he might he pushed to do so again.  
  
(...yes, Virgil had  _lots_  of experience with that one.)

 _"Well, looks like we don't have to stop by the Hospital Wing now. We didn't have to find Logan, Logan found us!"_  Chelsea grinned.  
  
_"We should still stop by the Hospital Wing,"_  Astrit suggested.   
  
_"I did not see any of our friends or close acquaintances in the Hospital Wing while I was being tended to, but that does not mean that they did not arrive after I set out to find you,"_  Logan agreed.  
  
Virgil's attention was drawn from this conversation when he heard a scream coming from Toby. He pulled his wand from his pocket and narrowed his eyes, ready to take on the threat, but it turned out that he'd misread the scream.  
  
Toby's scream was not one of fear or anguish, but rather one of  _joy_.  
  
_"Toby! It's so good to see you!"_  Seth ran up to Toby and put his arms around his brother.  
  
Toby let out a laugh.  _"You don't know how happy I am to see you!"_  
  
_"Pretty sure I have some idea,"_  Seth laughed, but then his face turned serious.  _"Do you know where August and Patton are?"_  
  
Toby's face fell.  _"No, I was hoping that you did. I know Junie's safe in the castle since she's only a second year, but I don't know where Augusr and Patton are."_  
  
Virgil glanced up at Roman. Roman nodded to him, as if answering Virgil's unvoiced inquiry - No, Roman had not found Patton or Deceit either, or he would have said something.

Roman leaned back against a wall. He tilted his head back and glanced upward, as if this would stem the flow of the tears that threatened to fall.  
  
_"We'll find your brothers,"_  Era assured him.  
  
_"And Adam,"_  Logan added.  
  
_"Adam?"_  Roman blinked in confusion, his eyes doing a brief sweep of the group gathered to determine who was still missing. His eyes widened.  _"Adam is still missing too?"_  
  
The longer the other three remained missing, the more worried the others would grow...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure why I feel inspired to write this note now of all times - Perhaps its the fact that a few of you left such lovely messages a couple of days ago. 
> 
> I'm happy that so many of you enjoy this story, and that it has even helped some of you, whether though mental health struggles or matters concerning gender and/or sexuality. I had no idea just how in depth I was going to get with this series when I started it over a year ago.
> 
> Honestly, the first chapter I ever wrote way back in A Not So Brief After All History Of Virgil was written as a character bio, and some of the events of Virgil's early life were inspired by my own. Not to say anything bad about my family, who are loving and supportive for the most part (unlike a certain biological father who shall not be named in this series), but I'm talking more along the lines of my own mental struggles.
> 
> Virgil gave his first prophecy at the age of 8. Looking back, I'm not 100% certain when I began to develop anxiety and OCD...I may have always had it. However, age 8 is certainly when it ramped up in intensity. Virgil feared that because he was a Seer, anything bad that he might say might come true. I had similar fears concerning intrusive thoughts that I might hurt someone that I care about - thoughts I had no intention to act upon, but that felt like true threats nevertheless.
> 
> Lemme tell you, it's hard enough to deal with as a teenager or adult, but trying to deal with that in elementary school in the late 1990s when I lacked the words to properly explain how I felt and what I was going through made it even harder.
> 
> I had my first panic attack at age 11, not knowing what it was, but begging my mom to take me to the doctor because I was afraid that something was seriously wrong with me. All of this because I happened to walk into the crowded living room of our neighbor's house for a New Years Eve party. 
> 
> Like Virgil, I wasn't particularly sociable growing up either. I didn't really come out of my shell until a friend of mine introduced me to roleplaying and fanfiction online at the end of 8th grade. I will be forever grateful to her for doing so, because...honestly, I don't know where I would be without it. Even then, I wasn't particularly sociable offline, our group of friends often subject to cruel teasing in high school due to our nerdy interests or sexualities (and the majority of us weren't out at that point, though the majority of us have since come out as LGBTQIA+ since ). Online, though...that was a different story.
> 
> And continues to be to this day. I'm still not out to most people offline; I don't feel like they'd understand. My mom mentioned that I seem to have a lot of friends in the LGBTQIA+ community and seemed to hint that I could come out to her...but then specifically mentioned liking girls. 
> 
> Honestly, I'm still not sure where I stand romantically, whether it's heteromantic or biromantic or panromantic or even demiromantic. Ionly just came to understand my asexuality in the past couple of years, but trying to explain that to someone who likely doesn't even know what it is seems extra daunting.
> 
> Anyway, I can't tell you guys how many times I've been having a rough day for one reason or another, see all of your kind comments, and it turns everything around. You guys are absolutely wonderful, and I want to make sure that you're aware of this.
> 
> Needless to say, writing this has been and continues to be a very therapeutic experience. I hope that it continues to be for you as well. <3 Sorry for this little ramble, it just felt like something that needed to be said.


	36. Chapter 36

As tempting as it was for the group to divide and conquer for their search, no one particularly wanted to separate from the others after everything that they endured. So, despite the size of their group, they all headed to the Hospital Wing. Virgil and Logan had their hands intertwined almost the entire time. Virgil didn't want to let go of Logan, but it appeared that Logan did not want to let go of Virgil either.  
  
Virgil's left hand was free in the event that he needed to write something down, but as it turned out there wasn't much that he needed to say for the time being that Logan couldn't interpret based on looks and gestures.  
  
It was decided that only a couple of them would enter the Hospital Wing once they arrived, while the others would wait outside in the hall a bit away from the commotion.   
  
No one  _wanted_  to separate, but waiting in the hall outside of a room was a lot different than heading to two different places in the castle.

Era, Astrit, and Chelsea headed into the Hospital Wing and walked out alone. Astrit was shaking his head.  
  
Their friends weren't in the Hospital Wing.  
  
Nor could they spot Patton, August, or Deceit in the Entrance Hall. It was possible that they missed the three in the crowd, but that seemed more and more unlikely. And Virgil didn't think that they were  _all_  back in their Common Rooms or elsewhere in the castle. If only one of the three were missing it seemed more likely, but it couldn't be the excuse for all  _three_  of them.  
  
 _"We can't just give up our search! They could be anywhere!"_  Roman insisted.   
  
 _"Including back in Hogsmeade,"_  Astrit admitted sadly.  
  
 _"Then I'm going back to Hogsmeade!"_  Roman declared. At first Virgil thought this was hyperbole, but then Roman began to march toward the front door to the castle.  
  
 _"Wait, is he serious?"_  Chelsea gaped.  
  
 _"Roman, stop,"_  Logan told the Gryffindor.  
  
Roman glanced back. He ceased his marching, but it appeared that he'd only done so in order to say his own piece.  _"You guys can sit around and mope all you want. I want to actually do something. My fiance, my fiance's brother, and a good friend are still missing. I will not stand around and wait!"_  
  
 _"Or you could put yourself in danger,"_  Professor Picani frowned.  _"We don't even know that they're there. You might be putting yourself back into danger for nothing. What if Patton turns up here only to find that you're missing?"_  
  
 _"What if he's trapped back in Hogsmeade though?"_  Roman responded, though he sounded less resolute.  
  
 _"I know you want to do something...we all do,"_  Professor Picani admitted.  _"But we can't act rashly or we might make the situation even worse."_  
  
Virgil shuddered to think what  _would_  happen if Patton, Deceit, and August walked in perfectly safe and sound and Roman left for Hogsmeade. They'd be in the same boat all over again.  
  
Yet he couldn't deny that a part of him wanted to march to Hogsmeade and turn that village upside down to find their loved ones. He was still half tempted to do so. Virgil wasn't usually one to act rashly, but the stakes were high, and the wrong decision might mean the difference between life and death...for them  _or_  for their friends.

Roman let out a sigh of frustration, running his hand through his hair.  _"I feel so useless...I can't find Patton, I didn't even bring in Delilah..."_  
  
 _"Delilah?"_  Logan's eyes went wide.  _"She was there?"_  
  
Virgil blanched. Delilah was in Hogsmeade? That felt like  _proof_  that their suspicions as to who was responsible were true.  
  
 _"Did she do this?"_  Astrit's hands were balled up into fists.

Roman shook his head.  
  
 _"Why are you protecting her?"_  Astrit snapped.  _"I could have lost my sister because of her!"_  
  
 _"I'm not protecting her!"_  Roman appeared to be  _genuinely_  offended by the suggestion that he was.   
  
 _"You just said she didn't have anything to do with this. That does make it sound like you're protecting her,"_  Chelsea noted.  
  
 _"I did no such thing! She did not cast any of the spells, but she knew what was about to happen and did nothing to stop it,"_  Roman scowled.  
  
 _"When did you discover that she knew?"_  Logan wondered.  
  
 _"Less than a minute before the attack began. Had I known sooner, I assure you that I would have done everything in my power to stop it from ever occurring,"_  Roman scowled.  
  
Virgil did not doubt that for a second.

 _"There is one thing that puzzles me - Why would she tell you this?"_  Logan questioned.  
  
 _"I was about to storm out of the shop and she tried to stop me from doing so,"_  Roman spat.   
  
 _"...and she honestly thought that would work?"_  Era replied incredulously.  
  
 _"Excuse me, Professor Picani, may I talk to you for a moment?"_  Virgil's concentration was drawn from the conversation concerning Roman upon overhearing this, and he frowned as he tried to make out what Professor Foley was telling him as the two stood several feet away.  
  
Professor Picani's face grew somber. Virgil tensed,  _knowing_  that whatever news Professor Foley was conveying to Professor Picani, it wasn't good.  
  
After a moment or so, Professor Picani nodded to Professor Foley, and Professor Foley headed off. Professor Picani began to make his way back over to where the others stood. Virgil spared a glance at his friends and acquaintances to see if any of them noticed what was happening.  
  
While Roman, Logan, Era, and Chelsea continued to talk about Deliah (and he hardly blamed them for this - he would still be paying attention to their conversation as well had he not overheard Professor Foley), Virgil discovered that he was not the only one who noted Professor Picani's brief disappearance after all. Astrit, Seth, and Toby had their eyes trained on the returning professor, waiting with bated breath.  
  
Professor Picani cleared his throat, drawing Roman, Logan, Era, and Chelsea's attention to him. Whatever this was, it was something that  _everyone_  present needed to know - and that could only mean one thing.  
  
Professor Picani had news.  
  
 _"We are going to St. Mungo's,"_  Professor Picani informed them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kind words after the author's note of last chapter! You guys are amazing, and don't you forget it <3


	37. Chapter 37

So...I got another commission for this series! (And there's another one on the way, though the artist is still working on it...just thought I'd warn you guys in advance.) This is another one done by my friend CJ, the same person who did the art of Virgil and Logan looking through a telescope months ago for one of the earlier installments in the series (they go by @artistictaurean on tumblr if anyone wants to check them out). This current picture, of course, is of Virgil, Deceit, and Renilda (yes, I finally have art of Renilda =D).

...also I feel like this installment in the series is definitely going to wind up being longer than my usual low 40s in chapter numbers...


	38. Chapter 38

As the group began to walk, Virgil allowed his thoughts to wander, only sparing enough attention to his surroundings to make certain that he did not lose the others.  
  
It wasn't like he could bombard Professor Picani with questions. He  _could_ , but he'd have to  _write_  them out, and writing them out would require stopping, and Virgil would much rather get to St. Mungo's - especially if Patton, Deceit, and/or August were there, as he suspected.  
  
Surprisingly, the others were fairly silent as well. Seth and Toby were whispering to one another, but other than that no one dared to say a word. Virgil suspected that they were trying to come to terms with the news as well. It wasn't until they reached a staircase that Professor Picani began to  _ascend_  that someone spoke up.  
  
 _"Uh, Professor Picani? Where are you going? The doors to the Entrance Hall are that way,"_  Seth noted, gesturing to the left.  
  
 _"We're not going to the Entrance Hall,"_  Professor Picani frowned.  
  
 _"But we have to get out of the castle to go to St. Mungo's, right?"_ Toby chimed in.  _"It's all the way in London, isn't it? We can't get to without going to London!"_  
  
 _"...oh, right, you two have probably never used Floo Powder before,"_  Professor Picani realized.  
  
Oh,  _Floo Powder_. That made a lot more sense, and explained why they were headed upstairs.  
  
Professor Picani knocked on the door to the Headmistress' office.  
  
The Headmistress answered the door. Virgil noted that she looked awfully frazzled, but that her face softened once she saw Professor Picani.  _"Professor Foley told me that you would be coming. We're already connected to the Floo Network - you aren't the first who've had to travel from here to St. Mungo's tonight,"_  she admitted.  
  
Virgil shivered at that. Logan squeezed his hand, but Virgil could not help but notice that Logan's expression was perturbed as well.  
  
One by one, they stepped into the fireplace and announced their destination. This proved to be useful to Toby and Seth, who'd never traveled via Floo before and thus could observe and learn from the others. Roman nevertheless took the duty of providing them with a more detailed explanation, offering to go  _after_  the two third years went to ensure that they would make it safely to St. Mungo's before making his own journey.  
  
Virgil was one of the last to go. Surprisingly, it wasn't until he walked up to the flames that he realized something that made his stomach lurch.  
  
For Floo Powder to work, the person traveling needed to  _state their destination out loud_.  
  
Something that Virgil could not do.  
  
Logan noted his hesitation and frowned.  _"Virgil? Are you alright?"_  
  
Virgil shook his head, pointing to his mouth and then to the fireplace.  
  
 _"Oh...right,"_  Logan realized.  
  
The Headmistress stepped forward, a contemplative expression on her face.  _"I suppose...I'm sure they'll understand, given the situation."_  
  
Understand what? Virgil grew even more confused when the Headmistress seized a mug from her desk and waved her wand, casting an unfamiliar enchantment on the item.  
  
Logan's eyes widened.  _"That's brilliant!"_  
  
 _"Thank you, Mr. Dicax,"_  the Headmistress responded with the slightest of smiles.  
  
 _"What's brilliant?"_  Astrit wondered.  
  
 _"If I am not mistaken, our Headmistress has just created a portkey,"_  Logan explained.  _"Which would explain why you were hesitant at first, as the creation of portkeys is usually something that needs to be sanctioned by the Ministry."_  
  
The Headmistress shrugged.  _"They already gave their consent to connect my fireplace to the Floo Network. I'm confident that they would understand that these are extenuating circumstances and that we need to make due."_  
  
 _"You're the Headmistress and you're advocating breaking the rules?"_  Astrit responded cheekily, and Virgil had to blink at surprise at the amount of  _nerve_  making a statement like that toward the  _Headmistress_  would take.  
  
But then, this was the same guy who stood up to his Dark Wizard ancestor, so he supposed that this wasn't the  _first_  time Astrit showed that he had a lot of nerve.  
  
The Headmistress, fortunately, looked just as  _impressed_  as she was taken aback. She recovered quickly, however, and smirked back at the sixteen year olds.  _"Don't push your luck, Mr. Zhupan. You might as well all use the portkey at this point. No use in using Floo so long as you're all headed to the same destination."_  
  
Virgil could not help but smile. He might not be able to use Floo, but he could still travel - and the Headmistress was willing to bend the rules to help him to do so.  
  
Virgil, Logan, and Astrit exchanged glances, then reached forward to place their hands on the cup. Virgil felt a sudden pull at his navel, then closed his eyes as the colors began to blur around him. He could still feel the sensations, but closing his eyes helped...some.  
  
It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience, but it wasn't as though he had any other option to get to St. Mungo's from Hogwarts in a prompt matter (even if he  _had_  perfected Apparition, Apparition wasn't possible on the grounds of Hogwarts), so...he felt as though he couldn't complain  _too_ much.  
  
The three arrived in the lobby of St. Mungo's, still clutching the cup in question. One of the first things that Virgil noted was that the lobby was absolutely  _packed_  - it hadn't been this busy the other times he'd visited the wizarding hospital. Two mediwizards ran past, a floating stretcher between the two of them. On the stretcher was someone with such severe burns that they were barely recognizable.  
  
Virgil's hand flew to his mouth in horror.  
  
It wasn't a fluke that St. Mungo's was this busy. St. Mungo's was this busy  _because_  of the Fiendfyre attack. The majority of those in the lobby were either victims themselves, or friends and family of victims.  
  
Just as they were.  
  
 _"You guys got here via Portkey? Lucky! That would have been so much easier than Floo!"_  Virgil heard Chelsea saying, but he could hardly focus. His ears were buzzing.  
  
 _Why_  were they at St. Mungo's? They still had no answers...  
  
It was at that point that Professor Picani cleared his throat.  _"You're probably wondering why I brought you here..."_  
  
The fact that Professor Picani was stalling wasn't a good sign. Virgil clenched his fists together. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. His vision was graying. It was hard to make out what Professor Picani was saying, but he heard enough...  
  
 _"August...not...Adam...burns..."_  
  
The image of the patient being brought in by the mediwizards flashed to the forefront of Virgil's mind once more, and that was his last thought before collapsing to the ground.


	39. Chapter 39

Virgil had to squint when he came back around again. The lights were bright, and he wasn't exactly ready for it. Even when he opened his eyes once more, he had to hold his hand up to shield them against some of the light, at least until his eyes adjusted.   
  
It didn't take long for Virgil's eyes to open enough to discern where he was - lying on a couch. He jerked upward at once.  
  
Logan jumped up from where he was seated at Virgil's side.  
  
Virgil's eyes scanned the empty room. It was compact and brightly lit, containing two chairs in addition to the couch that Virgil was laying upon. Though Virgil suspected that one of the chairs was typically placed against the opposite wall beside its twin, but Logan pulled it over near the couch to be close to Virgil.  
  
One thing was for certain, though - This was not the lobby of St. Mungo's.  
  
Virgil immediately shot Logan a befuddled and slightly panicked expression. Logan, thankfully, properly interpreted said expression and launched into an explanation.  
  
 _"This is a consultation room. Ordinarily they would have place you into an empty exam room until you came to, but between their ordinary load of patients and the recent influx of patients from Hogsmeade, they are running low on rooms. And as they were fairly certain you fainted from the shock rather than as a result of anything medically pressing...they placed you here."_  
  
A consult room. He supposed that made sense. It was the same sort of room that a Healer spoke to him in when his mother wound up in the hospital two years before.  
  
...was that  _really_  two years ago? Hell, it was almost  _three_  at this point, as it was at the beginning of his sixth year and he was in the second half of his second chance at a seventh year.  
  
Why was he focusing on  _that_  of all things? There were more pressing matters at hand.  
  
This would require more than gestures and facial expressions, so Virgil reached into his pocket to pull out his pad and pen...  
  
...only to find them empty.  
  
Virgil's stomach lurched, and he immediately went to search the other pocket. He couldn't have  _lost_  them. He needed them to communicate!  
  
 _"-irgil. Virgil!"_  Logan's voice called out.  
  
Virgil turned to him at once. Logan was holding out Virgil's pen and pad for the latter to take. Virgil let out a sigh of relief.  
  
 _"I removed them from your pocket for safekeeping while they were looking you over,"_  Logan clarified.  
  
Virgil nodded, then immediately began to write out his first question.  _What happened?_  
  
Logan sighed, clearing his throat.  _"I thought you might ask that."_  
  
Of course he was going to ask that - that was what  _anyone_ would ask under these circumstances.

 _"You experienced a syncopal episode,"_  Logan told him.  
  
Virgil blinked, slowly arching an eyebrow at that.  
  
 _"You passed out,"_  Logan elaborated.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes.  _I know that. I mean what happened to Patton, August, and Dee? I couldn't make out what Professor Picani was saying._  
  
Logan blanched.  _"You did not hear what Professor Picani was telling us? I thought for certain that you did, and that what you heard was what led to your syncope..."_  
  
 _Just tell me,_  Virgil wrote. He wasn't ready to hear it - he didn't think he'd  _ever_  be ready to hear it - but they couldn't keep dancing around the subject like this either. He wanted to get it over with.  
  
 _"I suppose I'll start with the best news. Patton escaped unscathed, aside from a few minor cuts and scrapes and a minor burn akin to my own,"_  Logan began.  
  
...and that was the  _best_  news? Virgil supposed that he was glad that Patton wasn't hurt worse, but the fact that Patton was hurt  _at all_...  
  
The fact that Patton with his minor injuries was the best news that Logan could offer to Virgil did not bode well for the others. With a shaking hand, Virgil began to write a response to Logan.  _I heard something about Dee and burns._  
  
The first thing that Virgil noticed was that Logan flinched ever so slightly, and Virgil tightened his grip on his pen. He'd heard right, then.   
  
 _"Your..."_  Logan paused to make certain that no one was around, even though they were alone in the room. He pointed his wand at the door and cast a muffling charm, then  _still_ proceeded to lower his voice, as if he didn't trust his own magic and wanted to make absolutely  _certain_  that no one overheard what he was saying.  _"Your brother was severely burned. The Healers are currently treating him to the best of their ability. Your mother is currently with him, though he is currently unconscious, though I am uncertain whether this is due to the injuries or whether the Healers have placed him into this state to alleviate his pain."_  
  
Virgil's mind flashed back to the severely burned body on the stretcher between the Mediwizards earlier. Did his brother look like that?  _Was_  that his brother?  
  
Virgil's mind did not take pity on him this time. The darkness did not come to claim him, to rescue him from the horror that washed over him. Instead, a wave of nausea swept over him, and he held a hand over his mouth as he gagged.  
  
Logan rose to his feet at once.  _"Virgil, are you...where is a bloody trashcan when you need one?"_  His eyes swept back to Virgil, who shook his head.  
  
He felt ill, but he didn't think that he would actually be sick. Nevertheless, Logan finally spotted a trash can between the other chair and a wall, and he dragged it over, placing it close to Virgil.  _"Just in case,"_  Logan noted.  
  
Virgil nodded grateful, though he couldn't bring himself to smile.  
  
He was finally starting to patch things up with his brother. Now...would he still have that opportunity? Or was it lost forever? Had he waited too long?  
  
Another wave of nausea bubbled up, but this time Virgil swallowed to force back a gag, so as not to worry Logan further.  
  
There was one other question on his mind. He wanted to see his brother, but he  _needed_  to know this, even though he suspected that he wouldn't like the answer.  
  
 _You said Patton was fine,_  Virgil began.  
  
Logan nodded.  
  
 _Then why wasn't he in the lobby to meet us? Professor Picani also said something about August._  
  
Logan let out a shaky sigh, glancing up toward the ceiling and blinking rapidly, as if to hold back tears. Virgil tried to brace himself, but he knew that absolutely  _nothing_  could prepare him for what Logan was about to say, not if Logan could barely keep himself together.  _"Patton is currently with August. August...is in even worse condition than your brother. The Healers have informed the family that there is only a 50% chance that he will make it through the night."_


	40. Chapter 40

Virgil didn't know what to do.  
  
He wanted to see his brother. He  _needed_  to be there for his brother. He needed to be there for his mother as well.   
  
...but then he thought of Patton. He needed to be there for Patton as well. Patton was his best friend when he thought that he had no one else. Pattom rescued him from a dark place from which Virgil thought there was no escape.  
  
When he asked Logan for advice, Logan considered the options for a moment before offering Virgil his verdict.  _"I think you should see your family."_  
  
Virgil nearly flinched at the amount of certainty with which Logan spoke.  _But Patton needs me too._  
  
_"He does,"_  Logan agreed.  _"He needs all of us. However, I know that he will understand that you need to be there for your family."_  
  
_I just_...Virgil trailed off there, unsure of what to write next.  
  
_"You fear that either way, you are letting someone you love down?"_  Logan guessed.  
  
Virgil nodded.  
  
_"You are not, I can assure you of that. You are but one person, a person who cannot be in two places at once. Just because you choose to visit your brother first does not mean that you care any less for Patton,"_  Logan assured him.  
  
Virgil chewed on his bottom lip, then offered another nod to Logan.   
  
_"Would you like me to accompany you to your brother's room?"_ Logan offered.  
  
Virgil shook his head.  _I think it would be better if it was just the family, at least at first._  
  
Logan nodded.  _"I respect that. I will be in the lobby if you need me."_  Logan turned and headed back to the stairs.

As Virgil approached his brother's room, he began to wonder if he'd made a mistake. It would have been helpful to have Logan at his side, to squeeze his hand and offer him words of support, to urge him to continue forward despite the growing urge to run away.  
  
But it wasn't fair to do that to Logan.   
  
Virgil stopped outside the door to his brother's room. He drew a deep breath. He knew that nothing could prepare him for what he might see within, but that did not stop him from trying.  
  
He raised his hand to the door, stopping just shy of knocking. Was he really ready for this?  
  
Really, would he  _ever_  be ready for something like this?  
  
Virgil let out a sigh and raised his fist to the door, giving a few knocks. There was no turning back now.  
  
Virgil stepped back when the door opened, revealing Renilda. His first thought was how much more her pregnancy was showing in these late months...how ridiculous was that?   
  
That said, it didn't help that he could not bring himself to look at her face at first. He knew he owed it to her, though - he couldn't protect himself from this forever, and it wasn't fair to his mother to do so.  
  
Renilda's eyes were red and wet, her cheeks stained with tear tracks. Virgil had to fight back another wave of nausea. His mother should be happily preparing for the birth of her daughter, not wondering whether her eldest son would survive an attack that  _never_  should have happened in the first place.   
  
Virgil's hands clenched into fists. Renilda pulled him into a light embrace. This only helped to alleviate the tension some, however.  
  
_"Thank you for coming,"_  Renilda whispered quietly. It was as if she were afraid that if she spoke any louder, her voice would waver, and she would start crying all over again.  
  
_"I probably would have been called in to work had...had circumstances been different,"_  Renilda admitted, blinking back tears.  
  
Virgil knew what his mother meant. Were it not her own son (though the powers that be were still under the impression that he was merely an adopted son of sorts...it all seemed ridiculous now, given that his  _life_  hung in the balance, but they still needed to protect his identity to ensure that he did not wind up in Azkaban if...no,  _when_  he recovered), she would still be at St. Mungo's, called into work as a Healer.  
  
_"Emile will be back soon, he went to check on someone. I...I suppose you're here to see Li...A-Adam though, aren't you?"_ Renilda dabbed at her eyes, then led Virgil over to the bed.  
  
Virgil almost collapsed all over again, this time managing to steady himself even as his knees started to buckle.

His brother was indeed unconscious, and his injuries looked on par with the person the Mediwizards brought in on a stretcher. It was hard to even make out his features.   
  
If Virgil had to be honest with himself, the only thing keeping him from collapsing all over again was the knowledge that his mother was in the room. He wanted to keep it together for her.  
  
And she, in turn, wanted to keep it together for him. Renilda approached Virgil, placing an arm around her son. Virgil jolted a little in surprise, though he was able to calm his heart rate some when he realized it was only his mother.

Virgil wished that he could  _say_  something, to offer his mother words of comfort, but he could only write - and he was afraid that his hands were shaking too hard to write down anything legible.  
  
_"The burns are bad,"_  Renilda admitted.  _"It's all...its all very touch and go right now."_  She sniffed.  
  
Virgil nodded, unable to do much else. He could hardly tear his eyes away from his brother. As horrific as the sight was, he couldn't seem to direct his eyes anywhere else. Even when he tried glancing away, at a table or a wall or  _anything_  else, his eyes always came back to his brother.  
  
Lionel.  
  
Virgil chewed on the bottom of his lip, but this distraction did little to stop the tears from pouring forth from his eyes.

He tried his best to keep it together, to be  _strong_  this time around...but his efforts could only go so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So..change of plans, tomorrow actually probably will be the last chapter in this installment. Not that that means much, as the story will continue in the next installment which I will post the day after that, but thought I would warn you guys ahead of time.


	41. Chapter 41

Virgil spent a long time in his brother's room, but there was little change in his condition.  
  
 _"It'll take some time before we see whether the treatments will work or not, and how well they will work,"_  Renilda confessed.   
  
Professor Picani arrived an hour or so later. He placed a hand on Renilda's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Virgil could hear Renilda murmur a 'thank you' to him.   
  
 _"You should grab a bite to eat,"_  Renilda told him.   
  
Virgil shook his head.  
  
Renilda frowned.  _"You need to take care of yourself. We'll be here when you return. Besides, I know you want to check on your friends. It's okay, Virgil. It doesn't make you a bad person to step away for a few minutes."_  
  
...his mother knew him all too well, and thus knew the  _exact_ words that he needed to hear. He furrowed his brow and cast another look toward his brother's unconscious form. He chewed on his bottom lip. Renilda could comfort him until she was blue in the face, but it wouldn't completely alleviate his guilt.  
  
His stomach let out a low rumble, and he let out a sigh. He knew that if his mother overheard  _that_  she'd ramp up her strategy, so he ought to get it over with and get back here as fast as he could.  
  
Virgil made his way toward the tea shop. He didn't plan on getting  _much_ , but he wanted something to tide him over until...  
  
Well, he wasn't sure when. He wasn't sure how long his brother would remain in the hospital. He was scarcely aware of how he ended up in line at the tea shop, but he found his way there  _somehow_ , as if his body were moving on autopilot even if his mind wasn't 100% present.  
  
He picked up a few bagels, one each for himself, Renilda, and Professor Picani. Grabbing the bag containing the bagels and a couple of containers of cream cheese, Virgil set back off toward his brother's room.   
  
He did want to see Patton, to be there for Patton, but wasn't entirely sure where Patton was. He hated that his concern was more toward  _Patton_  than it was toward August himself - after all, August was the one fighting for his life - but it also stood to reason. Patton was his best friend of several years. He'd only interacted with August a handful of times. It was a horrific turn of events either way, and Virgil found himself wishing that he would snap awake back in his dorm, only to find that this whole thing was a nightmare.  
  
Virgil could picture it now. Jolting awake to the sound of a particularly loud snore from Dee's bed, letting out a sigh of relief as he recognized it was just a dream, tossing his pillow playfully at Dee to get him to  _shut up_  and stop snoring...  
  
But he didn't wake up.  
  
Instead, he nearly ran into Patton, who was coming around the opposite corner at the same time that he was.  
  
 _"Virgil!"_  Patton nearly shouted, immediately pulling Virgil into a hug.  _"I'm so happy to see that you're safe. I mean, I know that you weren't in...but I'm still happy to see you safe!"_  
  
Patton looked frazzled. Like Renilda's eyes, Patton's were still red, though not quite as wet. Patton had been crying, but not as recently as Renilda had when Virgil walked into his brother's room.

Virgil was...happy didn't feel like the right word to use at the moment...perhaps relieved? Yes, Virgil was  _relieved_  that Patton was alright.  
  
...physically speaking. He could tell that Patton was putting up a shield of sorts, trying to appear more stoic than he actually felt. Virgil would know how to recognize that - he'd partaken in plenty of that himself.  
  
 _"How is he?"_  Patton wondered.  
  
Virgil blinked in surprise.  
  
 _"Your brother,"_  Patton clarified.

Virgil bit down on his lip. That was the sort of question that required more than expressions and hand gestures, so he set his bag down and retrieved his pad and paper.  _Not great,_  he admitted.   
  
Patton nodded.  _"It's...it's the same for August."_  Patton told him. It sounded as though Patton was struggling to keep it together.  
  
 _You don't have to be strong here,_  Virgil reminded him.  _Toby and Seth aren't here._  Virgil knew Patton, and knew that Patton would hold back to spare his brothers the pain of seeing their older brother so distraught. Thus it was no surprise when Patton's eyes began to well up with tears as they scanned the sheet.  
  
As soon as Patton read what Virgil had to say, it was as if a dam burst. Virgil had a feeling that Patton was holding back these tears for a long time, and he immediately pulled the Hufflepuff into his arms, squeezing him tightly to offer any comfort that he could.  
  
 _"I don't know what I'll do...I-I don't know what I can do,"_  Patton confessed through his sobs.  _"I-I was supposed to protect him!"_  
  
Virgil never wished he could talk more than he did right now. He could write what he wanted to say, but that would require letting go of Patton, and he didn't want to do that. A few stray tears slipped out of Virgil's eyes, and he closed them, focusing on rubbing Patton's back in what he hoped was a calming matter.  
  
He wasn't sure, though. He never really was the best at comforting people. He was usually the one that required comforting himself.  
  
Patton did seem to calm a little in his arms, though Virgil couldn't tell if he was actually doing anything or if it was just the result of Patton finally allowing himself to have a good cry.

Patton did eventually pull away on his own though, rubbing at his eyes.  _"I should have protected him,"_  he repeated with a sniff.  
  
 _You did,_  Virgil wrote.  _You got him here where they could help him, didn't you? You gave him a fighting chance,_  Virgil assured him. He grabbed a box of tissues off of a nearby table and held them out for Patton.  
  
Patton grabbed a couple, using one to blow his nose and one to dab at his eyes.  _"It still feels like I could have done more, though. If it weren't for your brother we'd both be..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this installment, though fear not - I will be posting the first chapter of the next installment, which is already written, tomorrow!


End file.
